What are INID codes and why are they important for patent documents?
INID codes (Internationally agreed Numbers for the Identification of bibliographic Data) provide a standardized way to identify bibliographic data on patent documents without needing to know the specific language or laws used. They are used by most patent offices worldwide and have been applied to U.S. patents since 1970.
As stated in the MPEP: “The purpose of INID Codes (…) is to provide a means whereby the various data appearing on the first page of patent and like documents or in patent gazettes can be identified without knowledge of the language used and the laws applied.”
INID codes allow for consistent identification of key information like application numbers, priority data, applicant names, etc. across different patent offices and languages. This facilitates searching and analyzing patent documents from multiple countries.
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