What are the two types of technical information classified in CPC?
According to MPEP 905.03(a), patent documents contain two types of technical information to classify in the Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) system:
- Invention information: This is mandatory to classify and represents an addition to the state of the art.
- Additional information: This is discretionary and complements the invention information without necessarily representing an addition to the state of the art.
The MPEP states:
“Invention information is technical information in the total disclosure of a patent document (for example, description, drawings, claims) that represents an addition to the state of the art.”
And for additional information:
“Additional information is non-trivial technical information which does not in itself represent an addition to the state of the art but might constitute useful information for the searcher.”
Both types of information contribute to the overall classification picture of a patent document.
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