The Strasbourg Agreement on the International Patent Classification

Introduction

The Strasbourg Agreement Concerning the International Patent Classification (IPC) is an international agreement governing the classification of patents by specialized subject. The agreement was entered into force in 1968 and provides a system of classification that facilitates international patent searches. The IPC is updated every five years and is currently in its 9th version. The Strasbourg Agreement is maintained by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and ratified by over 90 signatory states.

History

The IPC was created in 1970 by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), with the support of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The aim of the agreement was to produce a single international system for classifying patents by technical field. This would make it easier for researchers to locate patents on technologies that may be relevant to their work.

The agreement was first signed in Strassburg, France, in 1971 by 10 countries. Since then, the agreement has grown to encompass over 90 signatory states and more countries may join with the consent of all existing signatories.

Overview

The IPC is designed to classify patents according to their technical content. This makes it easy to locate patents that are related to a specific research topic. The IPC is also used to facilitate claim-type searches which allow researchers to locate patents having specific technical characteristics, such as a particular type of material or process. The IPC consists of 8 major classes, 10 subclasses, and 626 sub-subclasses, each covering a broad technical area. This classification system is regularly updated to ensure that the IPC remains relevant and up-to-date.

The IPC is maintained by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and is governed by the Strasbourg Agreement. The agreement was signed in 1971 and provides for regular updates to the classification system. Each update is subject to consultation and approval by the signatory states, who must agree to each amendment to the agreement.

The IPC is a useful tool for researchers and inventors, providing an easy-to-use system for locating patents that are related to their work. The agreement also helps to facilitate international cooperation in patenting, making it easier for inventors to patent their inventions in multiple countries.

Significance

The Strasbourg Agreement and the International Patent Classification (IPC) are important tools for protecting intellectual property rights. The agreement provides a standardized framework for classifying patents, which is essential for international patent searches. At the same time, the agreement facilitates cooperation between countries in patenting, making it easier for inventors to obtain patent protection in multiple countries.

The agreement also helps to keep the IPC up-to-date and relevant, ensuring that the classification system remains useful for patent searches. This is important as advances in technology occur rapidly, and the classification system must keep up or risk becoming outdated.

Conclusion

The Strasbourg Agreement Concerning the International Patent Classification (IPC) is an important international agreement that provides a framework for classifying patents according to technical content. The agreement is maintained by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and is ratified by over 90 signatory states. The IPC is updated regularly to remain relevant to current technologies and facilitates international cooperation in patenting. Overall, the Strasbourg Agreement and IPC are important tools for protecting intellectual property rights.

The Strasbourg Agreement Concerning the International Patent Classification was adopted in 1971 and came into force on October 7, 1975. It is the Paris Conventions counterpart in the field of patent classification. The Agreement provides an instrument for the classification of patent documents and the exchange of technical information among countries signatory to the Agreement.

The Agreement consists of the following parts: (1) the text of the Strasbourg Agreement, (2) the International Patent Classification, (3) an Explanatory Note and (4) a Table Showing the Distribution of Classes in the International Patent Classification. A Protocol amending the Strasbourg Agreement was adopted in 2000.

The Strasbourg Agreement has two main objectives:

(1) Establish a uniform system of patent classification, allowing for the appropriate classification of new technology,

(2) Simplify international exchange of technical information by providing a common language for searching and retrieving information on inventions.

The International Patent Classification (IPC), which is the basis for classification of documents, is divided into eight main technological classes and has numerous subclasses. These indicate the fields of technology the invention applies to. For example, the main class A is related to Human Necessities, while class C deals with Chemistry and Metals.

The Explanatory Note contains instructions on how to interpret the symbols and terms and how to apply the IPC to new documents.

The Strasbourg Agreement is important to patent offices as it provides them with a reliable means to surveying and retrieving patent documents, and it has been used to create various databases around the world. It has been constantly revised over the years since it was first adopted and is still in use today.

The Agreement, and the underlying International Patent Classification system, offers a degree of transparency in the search for technical information. The Strasbourg Agreement is instrumental in allowing countries to exchange information in a quick and efficient manner, allowing for a better understanding of the state of technology and the potential for innovation.