PAJ ニュース第 39 号タイトル

Table of Contents

1. Eighth Edition of the IPC ·······················································2
2. Issuance of PAJ (IPC Eighth Edition) ·······································5
3. PAJ Issuance Schedule ·························································7*The eighth edition of the International Patent Classification (IPC8) entered into force onJanuary 1st 2006, and the Patent Abstracts of Japan (PAJ) will be changed in accordancewith IPC8 from the April 26th issue (patent applications published in January 2006 inJapan). This issue of PAJ News explains the outline of the revision of the IPC and changes
in the indications for IPC symbols in the PAJ as well as the updating of MIMOSA (in orderto accommodate IPC8).

11. Eighth Edition of the IPC
IPC is an internationally uniform classification for patent documents. It is employed
as a useful tool for patent document search by patent examiners, applicants, and otherpatent users.
Under the Strasbourg Agreement Concerning the International Patent Classification(signed in 1971; came into effect on October 7, 1975), the contracting parties shall indicate
IPC symbols in patent documents.
However, for large patent offices dealing with a vast number of publications, thetraditional IPC was not detailed enough for conducting precise and effective searches, while
for small patent offices dealing with a small number of publications, it was too detailed andthe assignment of classification imposed a large workload. It was also pointed out thatrevision only once in five years was insufficient in light of the accelerating advancement oftechnology.
Under such circumstances, the WIPO/IPC Reform Working Group decided toinitiate IPC reform project in March 1999. As a result of discussions, IPC8 entered into force
on January 1st 2006. The main features of IPC8 are as follows.

<Outline of the Eighth Edition of the IPC>
○ Division into two levels
The IPC has been divided into the “advanced level” and the “core level.”
The “advanced level” (about 70 000 entries) is employed by large patent offices
including the Japan Patent Office (JPO). It may be updated, if necessary, every threemonths (on January 1st, April 1st, July 1st, and October 1st each year) in order to adapt
appropriately to technical development which is speeding up.
The “core level” is a relatively simple classification (about 20 000 entries) that iseasy to use for small and medium-sized patent offices. It will be revised once every threeyears.
○ Reclassification of published documents based on the latest edition
All of the patent documents defined as the back file of the PCT minimum
documentation will be reclassified with the latest IPC version. It will enable us to search all
documents by using only the latest edition of the IPC.
○ Review of the classification rule
The basic rule for classification previously applied was the “best fit rule,” i.e. finding
the most suitable entry from all entries in the IPC. Under IPC8 and subsequent editions ofthe IPC, the first place priority rule will be applied in principle to the fields revised in theadvanced level classification for the purpose of simplifying the classification rule andeliminating variations for classification.
○ Standardised sequence2The standardised sequence follows the principle of proceeding from more complex
to less complex subject matter and from specialised to non-specialised matter of thesubclass in the same section of the classification table. This sequence is introduced tothe fields applied to the first-place priority rule.
○ Construction of the Master Classification Database (MCD)The European Patent Office (EPO) has developed a database called the MasterClassification Database (MCD) holding classification information for patent documents
published by patent offices of IPC Union, and the EPO handles the information in the MCDfor uniform management. Each patent office will send classification information to the MCDsuch as the IPC assigned to the patent application filed in the country, the edition thereof,
and the date of classification, and it can use replicated data from the MCD for patentdocument search.
○ Indication in publications
The advanced level of the IPC used by the large offices including the JPO will berevised every three months where necessary. Therefore, the date of revision will beindicated for each classification symbol, instead of indicating the edition number as thesuperscript of “Int.Cl.” as in the case of the seventh and previous editions. Invention
information is distinguished from additional information by a bold font, and the advanced
level is distinguished from the core level by an Italic font.
<Indications in a bulletin issued by the JPO and patent offices that only use the advanced
level>
Int.Cl.
B28B 5/00 （2006.01） Advanced level - invention information
B28B 1/29 （2007.04） Advanced level - invention information
H05B 3/18(2008.07） Advanced level - additional information<Indications in a bulletin issued by patent offices that use only the core level>
Int.Cl. （2006）
B28B 5/00 Core level - invention information
B28B 1/00 Core level - invention informationH05B 3/10 Core level - additional information<Indications in a bulletin issued by patent offices that use both the advanced and corelevel>
Int.Cl. （2006）
B28B 5/00 （2006.01） Advanced level - invention information
B28B 1/29 （2007.04） Advanced level - invention information
H05B 3/10

Core level - additional information3

○ Publication of the IPC8 scheme
The original version of the IPC8 scheme is available on the WIPO website (inEnglish and French).
URL:

http://www.wipo.int/classifications/ipc/ipc8/
Information on IPC8 is also available on the EPO website.

URL:

http://ipc-reform.european-patent-office.org/○ Frequent asked questions and answers on IPC8Ｑ．Can we distinguish the core level from the advanced level in the classification scheme?
Ａ．The IPC scheme available on the WIPO website is equipped with the function enabling
you to change the level viewed, i.e. to switch between the advanced level and the corelevel .
Ｑ．The IPC will be revised, if necessary, every three months. Will a new classification
scheme be also issued every three months?
Ａ ． When the IPC is not revised, a new scheme will not be issued as well and anannouncement will be made to this effect.
Ｑ．How can we know when a particular entry in the classification was revised?
Ａ．You can find the date of revision by version indicator at the end of the title of each entry
in the advanced level classification scheme. For instance, with respect to updated
entries that will take effect in July 2006, the date of revision will be indicated as version
indicator using the square brackets, e.g. [2006.07], following the title of the respective
entries in the classification scheme.
Ｑ．Can we use IPC8 for “PAJ Search” on the IPDL?
Ａ．Since each PAJ has the IPC assigned when the publication is issued, you have to use
the previous editions of the IPC that were applied at the time of publication whensearching for publications issued in December 2005 or before.

42. Issuance of PAJ (IPC Eighth Edition)<Change in the indication on PAJ (IPC8)>

IPC Eighth Edition<Addition of new criteria for MIMOSA (IPC8)>

New criteria for the IPC8

* Since Japan uses the advanced level, new criteria concerning theadvanced level are added.

* Users can search the entire range of classification fields, includingclassification symbols for the former IPC editions (1st to 7th), andsymbols of the new IPC (8th edition) simultaneously.
5<Setting of MIMOSA>MIMOSA has been upgraded to correspond to the eighth edition of the IPC. The
new version is available on the PAJ CD-ROMs issued on April 26, 2006 and after.
The former version cannot be used for IPC searches and may not be able toindicate correct IPCs. Please update MIMOSA using “update.exe” in the CD-ROM.
◇ How to install MIMOSAFirst installation of MIMOSA
Step1: Execute “setup.exe” in the CD-ROM and install “MimosaAP5.0.5.0”.
Step2: Execute “update.exe” after the installation of “MimosaAP5.0.5.0” is completed.

6◇ How to update MIMOSA
Step1: Execute “update.exe” in the CD-ROM.

3. PAJ Issuance Schedule[2006]
Date ofpublication of
PAJ
Jan. 31 (Tue.)Feb. 28 (Tue.)Mar. 31 (Fri.)
Apr. 26 (Wed.)
May 29 (Mon.)
Jun. 28 (Wed.)

PAJ

PAJ index

Serialnumber forthe year

Total
serialnumberNumber of
PAJ stored

Coverage

2006-1

133

34,4002005-1[121]/2005-12[132]2006-2

134

24,4002006-3

135

26,2002006-4136

25,6002006-5

137

29,4002006-6138

32,3007

2006-1[133]/2006-3[135]