New Zealand: IPC Reform – How Will It Affect The Patent Profession?

Article by Ian Cockburn Marketing Manager, Patmark Research Limited, with expert help from Mary Bonsell, Senior Technical Information Officer, World Intellectual Property Organization

One of the hot topics in today’s Intellectual Property (IP) world is IPC Reform. International Patent Classification edition 8 (IPC⁸), the first edition of the reformed IPC, will come into effect on 1^st January 2006. IPC⁸, also referred to as IPC 2006, will replace the latest and current edition IPC⁷.

On first blush IPC⁸ will not seem radically different from IPC⁷. For example, the rules, purpose, and structure of the IPC symbols used for searching will not fundamentally change. But, there will be changes that everyone should be aware of, such as the introduction of version indicators and a two-level approach to classification.

Most notably, the IPC Reform will improve the behind the scenes systems of IPC and will make searchers use of IPC more effective and will reduce searching times. In addition, the IPC symbols defining technology fields and the master electronic database that records IPC symbols (to which patent documents relate) will be updated more often.

Consequently, whether you are a searcher, a Patent Attorney, Patent Examiner or IP Manager, this article endeavours to background the IPC reform and to encourage you, as an IP Professional, to take advantage of the implications of, and to discover the benefits of this important event.

Information about IPC and its reform is available from the IPC website at http://www.wipo.int/classifications/ipc/. The IPC⁸ is due to be published by the 1^st July 2005.

The purpose of the IPC is to classify patent documents according to the technical field in which they lie, independent of both language and terminology.

The reform of the IPC was launched to take advantage of the electronic environment to address several important issues facing the IPC system, as discussed below.

• The IPC reform allows for more regular updating "Revision" of the IPC to take account of new technologies, and allowing better classification, earlier, for technological growth areas.
• The IPC reform will make it mandatory for all major patent collections (defined as PCT Minimum Documentation¹) to be updated and reclassified into the latest IPC edition. This will enable searchers of "older" technologies to search a single edition of IPC with greater confidence.²
• The IPC reform will also allow less well-resourced IP Offices or those containing smaller collections to classify to a broader or "Core" level.
• Over time, useful information will be added to a new "electronic layer", to help you search the IPC effectively and efficiently.

Would it have been possible to get rid of the IPC system and use or create another system? No, the IPC system is used by more than 100 countries as a major, or the only, form of classification. For more see http://www.wipo.int/classifications/ipc/en/reform/principles.html

As from 1^st January 2006:

• Some entries of IPC⁷ will be amended and a number of new entries will be added to IPC⁸. For example, a new main group A61K36 relating to "traditional herbal medicines" has been added in IPC8.

• The reformed IPC has a two-level: core³ and an advanced⁴ level structure. The core level will better satisfy differing needs of small and medium-sized IP Offices. Whereas those providing and searching larger patent collections will use the advanced level.
• Patent documents in major patent collections will be reclassified (if the classification area has changed during the revision cycle) to the latest edition of the IPC, prior to the entering into force of each edition. Searchers will no longer need to search different versions of IPC to ensure a full coverage search.
• Patent classifications (previous, current, and future) will be maintained in a Master Classification Database (MCD). MCD data will be accessible via esp@cenet. The MCD will be a powerful tool for finding relevant patent documents quickly and accurately according to the most recent version of the IPC.
• WIPO has made a commitment to ensure that various search aids will be made available to benefit all searchers. As an example, the translation and natural language search tool (TACSY) will be provided to the public in at least two languages. TACSY will allow non-IPC specialists to find IPC symbols using a few key words and synonyms. Try it at http://www.wipo.int/tacsy/.

• An electronic layer containing supplementary information is included on the Internet version of the IPC. Illustrations, definitions, formulae, and examples will help you know when you have found an (in)appropriate class. While some definitions will be available on 1^st January 2006, the electronic layer will become rich and increasingly more valuable over time.
• The format of the IPC symbols will not change substantially. There will be no dramatic change altering the way you use IPC classification symbols for searching.
• The presentation of classification symbols appearing on the front pages of published patent documents has been revised, most notably to reflect the version of the classification symbol.⁵

• As technologies emerge and then develop, the number of patent documents in specific classes can grow unmanageably large, so much so that it becomes inefficient and dangerous to search large classes. The IPC reform will enable classification entries to be added, deleted or divided within a three-month advanced level classification revision cycle. Formerly the IPC was revised every five years. The shortened revision cycle will allow for a more dynamic classification system to more closely reflecting the state of the art.
• Collections held by smaller IP Offices will be classified only to "Core" Level. Searchers should be aware of this when performing "National" searches, where a broader approach may be necessary. Core level searches will, nevertheless, be a more than useful tool for gathering statistics or for technology watching purposes.

All patent IPC users will be affected by IPC reform. The effects are positive, particularly in the long term. The benefits are summarised below.

• If you are already familiar with IPC⁷, you will be able to attribute and determine IPC symbols in the same manner as you have been accustomed, you will not need to learn a new classification system.
• If you are not familiar with the IPC classification system, the reformed IPC and its aids and tools will help you learn
• You can choose to search patents classified to the core level and / or the advanced level. For example you may use the core level class to search Irish patents but advanced level symbols to search European patents.
• You will need to determine and search using only the latest edition for the major patent collections.
• The IPC will be more responsive and up-to-date, to keep track with recent technology explosions.
• In the advanced level of the reformed IPC there will be less patent documents in each class, these fewer patent documents will be more relevant to the technology you are searching for.
• The Internet version of the reformed IPC will illustrate, exemplify, further and better define IPC symbols, in an ongoing capacity.
• Search aids such as a translation and natural language search tool (TACSY) will be provided at no cost to the public.

As you have been reading this article you will have noticed reference to many sources available on the IPC website. WIPO encourages you to bookmark http://www.wipo.int/classifications/ and consult this page regularly as more information becomes available as we approach the new year and the dawn of the IPC reform.