Patents classification system

CASSIS USPTO USPTO Office of Electronic Data Conversion and Dissemination CASSIS, the Classification and Search Support Information System of the USPTO, comprises three subfiles CASSIS/BIB, bibHographic information for utiHty patents from 1969 and for others from 1977 CASSIS/CLASS, USPTO classification by patent number of class/subclass CASSIS/ASSIST, iadex to U.S. Manual of Classification U.S. Manual of Classification, Class Definitions IPC, U.S. Classification Concordance Manual of Patent Examining Procedure Attorneys/ Agents Roster, etc... 

There are three major steps to a patent search. (1) There is the US Patent Classification System that is a sort of subject index to all patents, (2) CASSIS is a computerized software information system provided by the USA patent office, and (3) review the patent that takes time involves the weekly official worldwide gazettes, magazines, etc. There are many ways available to search the patent database in both US and worldwide, but one web that is particularly useful to the novice or occasional searcher is one offered by IBM locate at http //www patents.IBM.com... 

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Web Patent Databases. The Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) [72] offers free World Wide Web access, http // www.uspto.gov/main/patents.htm, to a bibliographic patent database that uses the most current patent classification system, this may not match the classification data that appears on the printed patent, and to a full-text patent database that uses the classification data that appear on the printed patent, this may not match the current classification data. The databases start with January 1, 1976, patents. The full text of a patent includes all bibliographical data (e.g., inventor s name, the patent s title, the assignee s name, etc.) and the abstract, full description of the invention, and the claims. All the words in the text of the patent are searchable. If the patent number is known, the patent, regardless of year, can be ordered from the PTO. Automated searching of 1971 to date patents is available at some of the Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries. Prior to 1971 searching can be done at the PTO facilities or at the Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries. Commercial patent search services are also available. 

Patent classification codes, 78 241 Patent classification systems, 78 208 hybrid, 78 209... 

The USPTO classifies claimed subject matter according to an internal classification system whose mysteries are not completely fathomable to the common man. The Index to the United States can be found at www.uspto.gov/web/patents/classification/uspcindex/indextouspc.html. 

In larger companies, the subject classification or indexing of technical articles, patents, and books greatly facilitates searching. A company with such a program is actually accumulating continuous searches in the subject classes of the classification system. 

Over 2,900,000 United States patents have been issued since 1836, over 200,000 of which contain information of chemical interest. Clearly, an efficient classification of patents is essential for the proper functioning of the patent system and for making the information available. 

The classification system has continued its growth with the years, a separate Classification Division being established in the Patent OflSce in 1898 for the administration of the work and problems pertaining to this field. The revisions and amplifications of the system have, of course, had to be accompanied by the movement of patents to their newly assigned locations. 

The bible of this system is the Manual of Classification of Patents, published by the Patent Office. Supplementing the manual are the class and subclass definitions contained in the Classification Bulletins, also obtainable from the Patent Office. 

An important step forward has been the recent introduction of an international classification system for patents (184). Each British, German, and Australian patent now carries the class and subclass under this system as well as that imder the national classification. As discussed below, under French Patents, this system has been adopted and is now used in France. 

The international classification system (184) was substituted entirely for the above in the classification of French patents October 1, 1959 (185), after several years, starting January 1,1955, during which both were used. 

After the index of earlier searches and special indexes have been checked, the files of patents and the cross-reference file of abstracts are systematically searched in selected subclasses of the United States classification system (3) and the Netherlands system (5). If too many patents appear to be pertinent, a conference with the patent attorney may be needed to narrow the field to be searched. Upon completion of the search, the patents are arranged in numerical order by countries and sent to the patent attorney together with a report in which the sources searched and the pertinent patents found are listed. If a large number of... 

The Patent Office collection of foreign patents is in the form of numbered bound volumes. Generally, two sets of each country s patents are available, one a numerical set and the other a set classified according to subject. However, the Czechoslovakian, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Polish, and Russian patents are available in only the numerically arranged set. "Wien two sets are available, the arrangement of the patents is in accordance with the classification system in use by the issuing country at the time the patents were issued. 

Both the literature and patents are continuously classified and filed by use of this classification system. A card file, a reprint file, and a patent file are maintained. The card file contains references to all or almost all of the existing material on each subject the reprint file contains the full text of a large number of the best articles on each subject ... 

Classification, as exemplified by the system employed by the United States Patent Office, groups together in fixed compartments items having certain common features. In the Patent Office classification, the subject matter of the patent is analyzed by the classifier in terms of the features on which the classification system is built. Terminology ranging from the highly generic, e.g., carbon compounds, toys, medicines, poisons, and... 

The basic limitation inherent in conventional classification is the inflexibility of a rigid system of compartmentalization. Once a large number of patents have been sorted out according to one classification system, rearrangement in accord with some other system requires much effort on the part of some person having expert knowledge of the subject matter. 

Paterra have prepared a guide (http //cxp.paterra. com/FTerms/Guide.htm) to compare the Japanese F-term system with the International Patent Classification (IFC) (http //www.wipo.int/classitications/fuIltext/new ipc/) and File Index classification system. The guide is a browseable... 

The patent offices worldwide have opened their databases to the public there is no better place to start the search for patentability than with these free databases the same databases that provide additional services and literature search are packaged by other vendors. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (1) has created one of the world s largest electronic databases that includes every patent issued recently, published applications are also available in the database. Scientists are strongly urged to develop expert skills in interacting with the database of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The search at United States Patent and Trademark Office can be most beneficial if the scientist learns how to use the patent classification system. (Tutorials are available at the United States Patent and Trademark Office website alternately, please consult Filing Patents Online A Professional Guide by Sarfaraz K. Niazi, CRC Press 2002). 

The literature of the commercial development of hydrocarbons derivable from petroleum and natural gas is meager until about 1935. Since 1945, the literature has become extensive. This study includes the paraffins, olefins, alicyclics, aromatics, acetylene, and separation processes. Journals and sections of journals of value are discussed. The main subject heads to be consulted in Chemical Abstracts are given. There is considerable overlapping of subject matter in the U. S. patent classification system pertinent classes are listed. References in the bibliography were selected to show the various types available. 

A far-sighted company policy can do more to save time in making searches than individual searchers can possibly save. When a company develops its own tailored subject index system of classification, covering its entire field of interest, and feeds into this its current literature abstracts and reviews of currently issued patents, the over-all saving of search time will be from 50 to 70%, after the system has been in effect for 20 or more years. When such a procedure is used, the time saved in searching is directly proportional to the number of years covered and the quality of the classification system. For the first year or so, the time saved is small, but it mounts yearly. In time, files of articles and patent references are built up on all subjects likely to interest the company. These files constitute searches in themselves and are kept up to date by the routine abstracting and patent indexing. 

Adams SR. Comparing the IPC and the US Classification Systems for the Patent Searcher. World Patent Inf. 2001 23 15-23. A comparison of the organizational philosophies of the International Patent Classification system and the U.S. national classification system and the differences in information retrieval that result. 

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