902.03(a) Patent Classification Home Page on the Internet [R-08.2017]
The Office of Patent Classification Home Page address on the Internet is www.uspto.gov/ patents-application-process/patent-search/ classification-standards-and-development. The site is the clearinghouse for classification information published in hyper-text mark-up language (HTML) and Adobe Acrobat portable document format (PDF) by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The site includes the following in HTML and PDF: (A) the Index to the U.S. Patent Classification system (USPC) (linked from "Classification Index, Patents"); (B) class definitions (linked from "Classification Definitions, Patents"); and (C) class schedules (linked from "Classification Manual, Patents"). The site integrates with the USPTO Patent Full-Text and Image Database site by allowing a search of a subclass by clicking on a patent icon in the classification schedules and definitions which generates a search result in the USPTO Patent Full-Text and Image Database. The USPTO Patent Full-Text and Image Database provides full-text of all US patents issued since January 1, 1976, and full-page images of each page of every US patent issued since 1790. Therefore, it is possible to see every patent in a subclass by browsing the classification schedules using the Classification Home Page in combination with the USPTO Patent Full-Text and Image Database.