IPC and Other Classification Systems: Trilateral Harmony Project

Mr. Heiko Wongel, Head, Classification Board, European Patent Office (EPO), Rijswijk, Netherlands

In view of the ever increasing effort for classifying patent documents, the Trilateral Offices started a few years ago to harmonize their internal classification schemes ECLA, FI and USPC. In order to reduce redundant work, scheme revisions are introduced simultaneously in all three classification systems on a project-by-project basis and the necessary reclassification work is shared. In most cases the Harmony revision projects are the precursors to IPC advanced level revisions and ensure that new schemes are well-tested before their introduction into the IPC.

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