Understanding Important Patent Fields
Classifications
PatSeer has adopted the same format for IPC and CPC classification codes as found on the Espacenet.
IPC – International Patent Classification
- Almost all patent applications are classified in this internationally recognized classification system.
- IPC currently divides technology into around 70, 000 areas and divided into 8 main sections based on the technology.
- The IPC has a hierarchical structure and is subdivided into sections, classes, subclasses, groups and subgroups.
Example:
Level | Symbol | Description |
Section | B | Performing Operations; Transporting |
Class | B01 | Physical or Chemical Processes or Apparatus in General |
Sub-Class | B01B | Boiling; Boiling Apparatus |
Group | B01B1 | Boiling; Boiling Apparatus for Physical or Chemical Purposes |
Sub-Group | B01B1/02 | Preventing Foaming |
CPC – Cooperative Patent Classification
- A patent classification system developed in partnership between the USPTO and the EPO.
- It is an extension of the International Patent Classification (IPC) system which further classifies patent documents into specialized categories and is used by more than 45 patent offices.
- It has section Y for general tagging of new technological developments; general tagging of cross-sectional technologies spanning over several sections of the IPC; technical subjects covered by former USPC cross-reference art collections [XRACS] and digests.
US Classification
The USPC classification scheme presented is primarily for historical purposes. After the implementation of the Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC), only the plant and design classification material are updated within the USPC.
FI and F terms
FI [File Index] and F-term [File forming term] are Japanese patent classification systems that enable the efficient search of patent documents. It is also noted that FI is based on IPC [International Patent Classification].
Assignee
You can perform an assignee based search in PatSeer using various options such as
- Assignee: Name of the individual or company applying for a patent.
- Current Assignee: Current assignee is the latest assignee present in Reassignment data of a patent document.
- Normalized assignee: Assignee names have been cleaned up manually using in-house tools for more precise search and analytics.
- Current Owner: Current owner is an ultimate parent with regards to corporate hierarchy. So, for example Google will be current assignee but Alphabet is the Current Owner.
- Assignee Non-Latin: In PatSeer you can also search for Assignee in Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Thai languages. (using the ASNNL field code).
Dates
- In the quick search form, you can restrict the search query using various dates from the Biblio tab.
- In the Command line Search form, you can use the field codes that are related to the dates to create a search query.
- These date restrictions can also be used as filters to view the records of choice.
Inventor
- Inventor: A person, or persons who have invented a technology.
- Inventor Non-Latin (INVNL): In PatSeer you can search for inventors related to the patents in Chinese, Japanese and Thai languages.