What is the purpose of the Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) system?
The Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) system is a joint effort between the USPTO and the European Patent Office (EPO) designed to harmonize patent classification practices. According to MPEP 902:
“The CPC system is a detailed classification system, containing about 250,000 classification symbols, and is based on the International Patent Classification (IPC) system.”
The CPC serves several key purposes:
- Provides a common classification system for both USPTO and EPO
- Enhances efficiency in patent searching and examination
- Facilitates international cooperation in patent examination
- Improves the quality and consistency of patent classification
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