The Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) system assigns at least one classification to a patent. You may see one ore more of classifications bolded; these refer to an 'Inventive' class and address the disclosed invention portion (or dislosure) of the patent.
The CPC system is hierarchical and uses a series of letter and numerical codes to denote each patent's grouping within the larger hierarchy. These codes or symbols work as follows:
CPC Classification Codes |
Example: A61K 39/0011 |
Section: A-H, Y |
A: Human Necessities |
Class: 2-digit number |
61: Medical or Veterinary Science; Hygiene |
Sub-class: A-Z |
K: Preparations for Medical, Dental or Toilet Purposes |
Main Group: 1-, 2- or 3-digit number, followed by /00 |
39/00 Medicinal preparations containing antigens or antibodies |
Sub-Group: 2-digit number
|
11 Cancer antigens |
To see this example, begin at: http://worldwide.espacenet.com/classification?locale=en_EP#!/CPC=A
