U.S./European Joint Patent Classification System

According to an Oct. 25, 2010 press release, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the European Patent Office (EPO) are working to establish a joint patent classification system. The new system will align the U.S. and EPO classification systems with the International Patent Classification (IPC) system administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). To improve searching capabilities the new system will be more detailed than the present IPC.