{"id":29809,"date":"2026-09-18T13:37:30","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T13:37:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regimbeau.eu\/?post_type=insight&p=29809"},"modified":"2026-09-21T09:57:21","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T09:57:21","slug":"beware-when-entering-classes","status":"publish","type":"insight","link":"https:\/\/regimbeau.eu\/en\/insight\/beware-when-entering-classes\/","title":{"rendered":"Beware when entering classes!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What do we call a patent \u201cclass\u201d?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

International Patent Classification (IPC), administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), was established in 1971 to categorize all patents and utility models using symbols according to the various technical fields to which they belong. Each new publication such as patent application or utility model thus includes at least one IPC classification. The IPC structure is available free of charge on the WIPO website<\/a> so that anyone can view the titles of the classifications currently in effect. This structure is updated on January 1st of each new year (see Version 2026 in the figure below).<\/p>\n\n\n

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Extract from IPC publication scheme, Version 2026 (source: WIPO website)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early 2013, an extension of the IPC was introduced jointly by the European Patent Office (EPO) and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). This is the Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC, index available on Espacenet<\/a>). The aim of the CPC is to preserve the fundamental structure of the IPC (sections, classes, subclasses, groups, and subgroups) while adding more specific details (specific codes, classifications related to application in a particular field, etc.). As of 2026, there are approximately 250,000 groups (or codes) in the CPC, compared to approximately 80,000 in the IPC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sources:<\/em> https:\/\/www.epo.org\/en\/searching-for-patents\/helpful-resources\/first-time-here\/classification\/cpc<\/em><\/a>  <\/em>https:\/\/www.wipo.int\/classifications\/ipc\/en\/ITsupport\/Version20260101\/transformations\/stats.html<\/em><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The various classification codes are defined according to the following structure (see the example in the figure below, taken from the CPC classification index): section (A), class (A63), subclass (A63B), main group (A63B 59\/00), subgroup (A63B 59\/50), and specific code (A63B 2059\/581).<\/p>\n\n\n

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Extract from CPC classification browser (source: Espacenet)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do patent classes change over time?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

With regards to classifications changes, WIPO updates the IPC through revision projects that may lead to the creation of new codes, which are then incorporated into the CPC and further detailed. The CPC is updated more regularly than the IPC (generally in January, May, and August) through the creation, deletion, or transfer of groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several websites provide details on each update, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n