Annual meetings: CPC and IPC Committee of Experts
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and European Patent Office (EPO) hosted the 13th annual meeting of the Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) on 23 February 2026. Held in a hybrid format from Geneva, the meeting brought together over 80 participants from 40 intellectual property offices. In the same week, the 57th session of the IPC Committee of Experts took place in Geneva.
During the meeting, the EPO and USPTO provided updates on the growing CPC community, outlined CPC releases planned for 2026 (on 1 May and 1 July), detailed the training and IT support available, and updated delegates on the newly developed CPC classification services, which will soon be accessible through the EPO’s Single Access Portal. Delegations shared their experiences with implementing the CPC, highlighting the advantages they have gained and identifying areas where additional support may be needed. This exchange created space for constructive dialogue and networking, helping to further strengthen the CPC community. Feedback collected throughout the discussions will help the EPO and USPTO steer future refinements to the system and address evolving user needs.
IPC Committee of Experts meeting
The IPC Committee of Experts held its 57th session from 24 to 26 February, continuing its role in overseeing all developments in the International Patent Classification (IPC) system. The EPO chaired the session, which included discussions on master documents such as the Guide to the IPC and the Guidelines for revision of the IPC as well as the future of classification in the AI era.
Although the EPO formally holds observer status in the IPC union, it remains active in IPC revisions and maintenance, notably as the owner of the Master Classification Database, the global repository for IPC data.
About the CPC
Launched in 2013, the CPC is an extension of the WIPO-administered International Patent Classification and is jointly managed by the EPO and the USPTO. It is divided into nine sections, A-H and Y, which in turn are subdivided into classes, sub-classes, groups and sub-groups. There are approximately 260 000 CPC entries. When substantive updates to the CPC are required that also necessitate a corresponding adaptation of the IPC, for example, to reflect the evolution of emerging technologies, the EPO and USPTO submit a revision proposal to the IP5 Working Group on Classification for co-ordinated review. Once consensus is reached, the agreed proposal is presented to the IPC community. Following its adoption, the amendments enter into force in both the IPC and the CPC on 1 January of the following year, ensuring continued alignment between the two classification systems.
