Resumen de Categorizing the Useful Arts: Past, Present, and Future Development of Patent Classification in the United States

Heather J.E. Simmons

• In 1836, Congress directed the Commissioner of Patents to develop a patent classification system. After 178 years of dynamic development, that United States Patent Classification system is being retired in favor of a new system, developed jointly with the European Patent Office, called Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC). Professor Simmons presents the history of the patent classification system in the United States and discusses how CPC is being implemented.