Current classification information for U.S. patents is available from the sources indicated below.

The Office of Patent Classification Home Page address on the Internet is http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/opc/. The site is the clearinghouse for classification information published in hyper-text mark-up language (HTML) and Adobe Acrobat portable document format (PDF) by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The site includes the following in HTML and PDF: (A) the Index to the U.S. Patent Classification system (USPC) (linked from "Classification Index, Patents"); (B) class definitions (linked from "Classification Definitions, Patents"); and (C) class schedules (linked from "Classification Manual, Patents"). The site integrates with the USPTO Patent Full-Text and Image Database site by allowing a search of a subclass by clicking on a patent icon in the classification schedules and definitions which generates a search result in the USPTO Patent Full-Text and Image Database. The USPTO Patent Full-Text and Image Database provides full-text of all US patents issued since January 1, 1976, and full-page images of each page of every US patent issued since 1790. Therefore, it is possible to see every patent in a subclass by browsing the classification schedules using the Classification Home Page in combination with the USPTO Patent Full-Text and Image Database.

The address for the Patent Classification Home Page on the USPTO Intranet is http://ptoweb:8081/. The Classification Home Page is also accessible from the desktop via the Patent Examiner’s Toolkit. The site is the clearinghouse for classification information published in hyper-text mark-up language (HTML) and Adobe Acrobat portable document format (PDF) by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Examiners and the public are provided with access to identical information for the Index, schedules, and definitions.

The Intranet Classification Home Page site also includes links to international information such as IPC8 Concordance, IPC8 Schedules, IPC8 Catchword Index, WIPO Handbook on Industrial Property Information and Documentation, and to national (U.S.) information such as Overview of the Classification System, Classification Guides and Bulletins, and the Patent Classification Search Page.

The Patent Classification Retrieval System (PCRS) provides Original (OR) and Cross-Reference (XR) classification information for individual patents and listings of patents contained in subclasses. This data is updated bimonthly with new issues, withdrawn patents and reclassifications.

The Classification Insight product on the USPTO LAN site is a custom browser that is accessible from the desktop via the Patent Examiner’s Toolkit. The Classification Insight product contains classification schedules and definitions in Adobe Acrobat portable document format (PDF) and various classification documents in a full-text searchable hyperlinked format, as follows:

1. (A) Patent Classification Data;
2. (B) U.S. Schedules by Class Number;
3. (C) U.S. Class Definitions by Class Number;
4. (D) US-to-IPC Concordance by Class Number;
5. (E) Schedules by Tech Center;
6. (F) Definitions by Tech Center;
7. (G) Schedules (MoC);
8. (H) Definitions;
9. (I) US-to-IPC Concordance;
10. (J) US-to-Locarno Concordance; and
11. (K) PDFs.

Access to a great deal of patent information as well as various search tools is available in the Cassis DVD-ROM series. These include:

1. (A) Patents CLASS: Provides a list of all classifications of a patent number and a list of all patent numbers in a classification, showing originals (ORs) and cross-references (XRs).
2. (B) Patents BIB: Bibliographic information for utility patents issued since 1969 (other patents, since 1977), and patent application publications since March 15, 2001, including inventor, issue or publication date, title, current classifications, assignee at time of issue, status (withdrawn, reexamined, extended term, certificate of correction issued or expired due to nonpayment of maintenance fee), and abstracts since 1988.
3. (C) Patents and Trademarks ASSIGN: Shows assignment of patent and trademarks rights recorded at the USPTO from August 1980 to present.
4. (D) Patents ASSIST: This disc provides a variety of files: Manual of Classification; Classification Definitions; Manual of Patent Examining Procedure; Index to the U.S. Patent Classification System; Attorneys and Agents Registered to Practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office; Classification Orders Index showing Classes/subclasses abolished or established since 1976; IPC-USPC Concordance; Classification, Art Unit, Supervisory Patent Examiner and Telephone Number (CAST) showing which Art Units examine which art according to classification; and Patentee-Assignee File showing assignment of patent rights at time of issue since 1969 for utility patents (other patents, since 1977), and inventor names since 1975.

The above DVD-ROMs are text-searchable. Search results can be viewed on-screen, printed, or downloaded to diskette. Patents CLASS, Patents BIB, and Patents and Trademarks ASSIGN are updated with new information every two months; Patents ASSIST is updated every three months.

In addition to the text-searchable discs, USAPat offers full facsimile images on DVD-ROM of U.S. patents issued weekly. The backfile includes patents issued since 1790. Intended as a document delivery system, USAPat allows retrieval of patents by document number only. Excellent printed copies can be obtained using a laser printer. USAApp offers full facsimile images on DVD-ROM of U.S. patent application publications beginning with March 15, 2001, and is issued weekly.

The automated search tools on examiners’ desktop computers include the Examiner’s Automated Search Tool (EAST), the Web-Based Examiner Search Tool (WEST), and the Foreign Patent Access System (FPAS). EAST and WEST provide examiners with access to the: (A) full text of U.S. published applications since 2001 ; (B) full text of U.S. patents granted since 1970 ; and (C) optically scanned full text of U.S. patents granted 1920-1970. Additionally, EAST and WEST each provide current classification information and images for all U.S. published applications and patents. Images are available for foreign patent documents, and English language abstracts are available for many foreign patent documents published since 1978 using the automated search tools. Specific instructions for gaining access to the various documents available using the automated search tools can be found in the "Patent Automation" folder in Microsoft Outlook and on the EAST, WEST, and BRS Search Strategy web pages on the Intranet, available on the examiners’ desktop computers.

The EAST and WEST products are also available to users in the Patent Search Room at the USPTO.