By Donald Zuhn --
Earlier this year, the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office and European Patent Office announced the formal
launch of the Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) system, a global
classification system for patent documents.
The CPC system includes approximately 250,000 classification symbols
based on the International Patent Classification (IPC), which is administered
by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and incorporates classification
practices from both the U.S. and European systems. At the formal launch of the CPC system, the
USPTO noted that the system would be used by the USPTO and more than 45 patent
offices.
Last week, the State
Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China (SIPO) and the
Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) announced that each would be using
the CPC system for at least some technical fields. In a release
issued on Tuesday, the EPO and SIPO announced that the two offices had signed a
Memorandum of Understanding to enhance their cooperation in the area of patent
classification. Under the terms of the Memorandum,
SIPO will start classifying patent applications in some selected technical
fields using the CPC beginning in January of 2014. In the interim, the EPO will provide dedicated
training on the CPC system to SIPO. By
January 2016, SIPO aims to classify patent applications in all technical areas
using the CPC. EPO President Benoît
Battistelli noted that "[w]ith the SIPO introducing the CPC as its
internal classification scheme alongside the International Patent
Classification, access to Chinese patent documentation will be dramatically improved." SIPO Commissioner Tian Lipu indicated that
"[c]lassifying Chinese patent documents into the CPC will undoubtedly
improve the search efficiency of these documents by the examiners of various
patent offices worldwide, and help these documents better serve global users as
well."
One day after the EPO and
SIPO announced their Memorandum of Understanding on the CPC, the USPTO and KIPO
announced the launch of a new
pilot program in which KIPO will classify some of its patent documents using
the CPC. Under the pilot program, KIPO
will use the CPC to classify patent applications in technology areas for which
filings have been especially active at KIPO.
KIPO will work with the USPTO to identify these technology areas. Acting USPTO Director Teresa Stanek Rea
stated that "[t]he USPTO looks forward to working with KIPO as it begins
the process of classifying documents into the Cooperative Patent Classification
system." KIPO Commissioner Young-min
Kim noted that "KIPO expects that the pilot project will help improve the
quality of examination at both offices by enabling examiners to retrieve Korean
patent documents more effectively."
For additional information
regarding this topic, please see:
• "USPTO News
Briefs," January 8, 2013
• "USPTO
Takes Next Step Towards Cooperative Patent Classification System,"
June 25, 2012
• "USPTO
and EPO Launch Patent Classification Website," October 26, 2011
• "USPTO
and EPO Agree to Principles of Joint Patent Classification System,"
February 14, 2011
• "USPTO
and EPO to Develop Joint Patent Classification System," October 25,
2010
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