US patent classification systems
The US had changing patent classification systems from 1830 to 1919. Our sources include Lafond and Kim, 2019, and their sources, and Goodbody's Patent classification through the ages[1]
- An early U.S. classification "was used to place the models and applications in groups based on general topics, [enabling] examiners and staff to efficiently search."
- "By 1830, the US [patent system had] 16 broad classification categories." They were used to organize materials and to determine which examiner would look at an application.
- "In 1836, the New Patent Act included the first statutory mention of a patent classification system [for] models and applications."
- 1867: the number of classes rises from 22 to 36.
- 1872-3: 145 classes, citing Commissioner Leggett
- As of Jan 1, 1878, the number of U.S. classes grew to 158.
- "The German Patent Office put a class on their patents as early as 1877."
- In 1880 the U.K. patent office created their classification system.
- 1899: a Patent Classification Division (at USPO probably), added a level by creating subcategories of class 20, Wooden Buildings
- In 1900, U.S. patent examiner Skinner published the Plan of Classification of Patented Inventions. "This became the basis for the United States Patent Classification (USPC) system from that point forward."
- "The plan specified that “articles of manufacture will be grouped according to their function or use… not to select a specific or limited function as the basis of classification where the articles are capable of a broader use.”
- "The US thus moved to grouping according to function or use. Before that, the groupings were based on broad categories such as agriculture, boating, and other categories."
- The Office of International Patent Cooperation (OIPC, referred to in Goodbody's text as DCIPC) started in 2014. This is probably part of USPTO. OIPC is right on this poster. Possibly it was published by OIPC although her affiliation is listed as CSD which might be classification division.
After 2013 USPTO officially assigned CPC codes and I believe did not officially assign USPC codes any more.
From Lafond and Kim 2019 data
Happily they have published their data -- see the page Lafond and Kim, 2019c. I tweaked it slightly. Unfortunately we don't see when subclasses appear or how many there are. LTA has shown that the 1870s aeronautics patents were filed under category 98, Pneumatics. Then they were in a subclass, or perhaps a later reclassification, into 143 Aeronautics. Here are three such examples, each sstamped with 98 Pneumatics and sometimes the 143: Patent US-1863-37667, Patent US-1872-130915, Patent US-1882-263397.
Year Classes 1830 16 1831 16 1832 16 1833 16 1834 16 1835 16 1836 21 1837 22 1838 22 1839 22 1840 22 1841 22 1842 22 1843 22 1844 22 1845 22 1846 22 1847 22 1848 22 1849 22 1850 22 1851 22 |
1852 22 1853 22 1854 22 1855 22 1856 22 1857 22 1858 22 1859 22 1860 22 1861 22 1862 22 1863 22 1864 22 1865 22 1866 22 1867 22 1868 36 1869 36 1870 36 1871 36 1872 145 1873 145 |
1874 145 1875 145 1876 145 1877 145 1878 158 1879 158 1880 164 1881 164 1882 167 1883 169 1884 169 1885 179 1886 179 1887 186 1888 186 1889 188 1890 188 1891 200 1892 200 1893 208 1894 208 1895 213 1896 213 |
1897 226 1898 226 1899 226 1900 226 1901 226 1902 235 1903 235 1904 235 1905 235 1906 235 1907 235 1908 241 1909 241 1910 243 1911 243 1912 243 1913 243 1914 243 1915 243 1916 262 1917 262 1918 262 |
References
- ↑ Joan Goodbody (CSD in USPTO). 2018. Patent classification through the ages. Goodbody was a patent examiner and became a classifier: [1] and LinkedIn
