The reform of the IPC
The reasons for reform of the International Patent Classification (IPC), in a world of increasingly electronic communication and fast changing technologies in many different fields, are outlined. The article then traces and explains the steps that have been taken so far to implement the agreed need to reform the IPC as effectively and efficiently as possible, to meet the many and varied requirements of its diverse current and future users. The long-term goals of the IPC reform are set out and include: (i) better worldwide consistency in the application of the IPC to invention and invention-like published information; (ii) creation of a single, worldwide master classification database (MCD), based on the IPC, for patent documents and classified non-patent literature; (iii) all documents to be classified on the current edition of the IPC; (iv) the IPC to become a more readily available, readily understood and easily used system; (v) the IPC to be designed so that it can be used to search both large international patent collections and also to enable users to search smaller national collections; (vi) the IPC to be fully accommodated to an electronic environment.
international patent classification ipc reform master classification database revision policy ipc structure ipc training electronic searching core level advanced level hybrid systems