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About the IPC
The International Patent Classification, which is commonly referred to as the IPC, is based on an international multi-lateral treaty administered by WIPO. This treaty is called the Strasbourg Agreement Concerning the International Patent Classification, which was concluded in 1971 and entered into force in 1975. The Agreement is open to states party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.
On 1 January 2004, 54 states were party to the Strasbourg Agreement. However, the industrial property offices of more than 100 states, four regional offices and the International Bureau of WIPO under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) currently use the IPC.
The Strasbourg Agreement establishes the International Patent Classification which, in its 8th edition, divides technology into eight sections with approximately 70 000 subdivisions. Each subdivision has a symbol consisting of Arabic numerals and letters of the Latin alphabet.