Legal Definitions - office classification

Definition: Office classification refers to the sorting of inventions by type into broad classes and narrow subclasses, as an aid in patent searches. It is also used to refer to any one of the several classes into which the inventions are sorted.

Examples: For example, if someone wants to search for a patent related to a new type of computer mouse, they would use office classification to search for patents related to computer peripherals. The office classification system would help them narrow down their search to find relevant patents more easily.

Another example would be if someone wanted to search for a patent related to a new type of solar panel. They would use office classification to search for patents related to renewable energy sources. The office classification system would help them find relevant patents more easily.

Explanation: Office classification is a system used by patent offices to categorize inventions into different classes and subclasses. This helps to make it easier for people to search for patents related to specific types of inventions. By using office classification, people can quickly find relevant patents without having to search through a large number of irrelevant patents.