Patent Class Tree Hierarchy

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Class Tree Analysis

Although at the Business User Subscription Level you are not authorized to create a Class Tree Hierarchy you can view a Class Tree Hierarchy created for you by IPVision or other Users with appropriate permissions. Please Contact IPVision to order a Class Tree Hierarchy Analysis. The following describes how to work with a Class Tree Hierarchy Analysis.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") has established a U.S. Patent Classification ("USPC") System with a hierarchy of classes that describes areas of technology and invention. There are approximately 450 Classes of invention and 150,000 subclasses of invention in the USPC. When a patent application is received by the USPTO the claims are reviewed and the application is assigned to one or more classes within the USPC System. According to the USPTO: "A patent classification . . . represents a searchable collection of patents grouped together according to similarly claimed subject matter."

The USPC System "hierarchy" is divided into "Class Pairs" consisting of the Main Patent Class and a further subclassification. A Class Pair takes the form of 123/456 where the "123" portion is the Main Class and the "456" portion is the subclass.

IPVision's Class Tree Analysis takes a list of patents and/or patent applications and visually displays where they fall in the USPC Class Hierarchy, with each Class Pair represented by a "node" on the Class Tree.

Class Hierarchy Tree Layout
	The colored bars show the number of patents at each "node" of the Class Tree. A "clear" bar at a node means that none of the patents in the list is in the Class Pair at that node. The numbers in parenthesis - e.g. (0,13) are the number of patents at a "node" (0) and the number of patents "further out" on the branch (13).
Collapse or Expand the Class Tree View
	You can "Collapse" or "Expand" the view of the Class Tree by clicking on the + or - boxes next to a Node. In the example shown, the + indicates that there are more Nodes under CPC Group "B01D - Separation". The "dark blue" portion of a bar shows the number of patents at that particular node - e.g., there are 4 patents at the "B60H1/00278 - for the battery" node.
Select Branches for Further Analysis
	Clicking on the "Selecton Box" next to a Node selects that Node and the entire branch underneath it, You can also "deselect" or "select" an individual node on a branch by clicking on that node's selection box. Once you have selected the Nodes and Branches of interest, use the "Edit" Menu at the top of the page to convert the selected Nodes and Branches into a list of patents and/or applications.

Viewing Patents or Applications at a Node

Click on the title of a Node and the patents and/or applications on that branch appear in the viewing area to the right - in this case the 9 patents/applications in the branch that starts at Node B60H.

Right Click on any of the patents and/or applications to access the Detail Menu for that patent or application.

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