Susumu IWASAKISusumu IWASAKI
Examination Policy Planning Office Examination Policy Planning Office
Japan Patent OfficeJapan Patent Office
Japanese Classification System (FI, F-term)Japanese Classification System (FI, F-term) / Quality of Reclassification/ Quality of Reclassification
Japan Patent OfficeJapan Patent Office
ContentsContents• IntroductionIntroduction• What is FI?What is FI?• What is F-term?What is F-term?• Comparison between IPC, FI and F-termComparison between IPC, FI and F-term• Effective search by F-termEffective search by F-term
– Example 1Example 1– Example 2Example 2
• Quality of search index in the JPOQuality of search index in the JPO• ConclusionConclusion
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Japan Patent OfficeJapan Patent Office
Families onWorking
List
FamiliesReclassified
Families onWorking
List
FamiliesReclassified
Families onWorking
List
FamiliesReclassified
JP 28,487 26,725 6,767 6,294 15,096EP 10,450 8,965 2,813 2,097 10,248
RU/SU 2,100 1,272 15 18 169US 700 595CN 631 202 262KR 549 50 253BR 31 27 3 3 40ES 29 27 6 6 26NL 5 51PL 86 7 41HU 31 3 40SE 22 15 3 3 9DK 10 10 11FI 7 6 13
BG 36 17CZ 43 3 17NO 7 6 1 1 5YU 12RO 10 10 1IL 3 (*) 1 7SG 0 7HR 2 2 3 3 1MX 1 (*) 1 1 5PT 1 1 1 1 3AR 36 4ID 2 4TR 2 3EG 1 2GR 2 2UA 2 1 2MD 8 1EE 0IT 4 1
Total 43291 37661 9888 8427 26352
IPC Revisions2007.01 2007.10 2008.01
IntroductionIntroduction (1) (1) JPO’s Contribution to the reformed IPC JPO’s Contribution to the reformed IPC
EP
JP74.7%
24.9%
2007.10
EP23.8%
JP71.0%
2007.01
JP shares over 70% of the reclassification resultsJP shares over 70% of the reclassification results
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Japan Patent OfficeJapan Patent Office
• A huge volume of Japanese patent documents
(over 400,000 applications per year)
• Covered in every technical fields
1993~: CD-ROM publication1993~: CD-ROM publication
1990~: Electronic filing1990~: Electronic filing
FI/F-term searchFI/F-term search
Full-text searchFull-text search
35 million records 35 million records (1885~present)(1885~present)
Introduction (2)Character of JP patent documentsCharacter of JP patent documents
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Japan Patent OfficeJapan Patent Office
Existence of unique/advanced
technologies in Japan
Growing number ofPatent Documents
Inefficient search with IPC
Creation of internal search indices since 1984
FI (File Index)FI (File Index)F-termF-term
Cf. IPC ver.4 (1985)Cf. IPC ver.4 (1985)
Introduction (3)Introduction (3)Background Background for creation of internal search indexfor creation of internal search index
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Japan Patent OfficeJapan Patent Office
IntroductionIntroduction (4) (4)Search index structure for JP patent documentsSearch index structure for JP patent documents
JPO original search toolJPO original search tool
JP patent documents
F-term
340,000 items(Multi-dimensional viewpoints)
FI (File Index) IPC
190,000 items 70,000 items
35 million records
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Japan Patent OfficeJapan Patent Office
• Subdivision of IPC
(around 190,000 items)• Covers all technical fields• Covers all JP patent documents• Backlog reclassification• Available in the JPO internal
system & IPDL• Biannual revise to keep pace
with technology development
What is FI?What is FI? (1) (1)Characteristics of FICharacteristics of FI
[Features]IPC IPC
70,000 items
FI FI (File Index)(File Index)
190,000 items
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Japan Patent OfficeJapan Patent Office
IPC:70,000
FI:190,000
Section A Section B01A
01B
・・・・・ ・・・・・
Section H01A
01B
Main groupSub group1/00
1/00
A B C Z
1/02
101 102
1/04 1/06
A B Z
1/08 2/00 2/02
A B301A
301B
Z
2/04
A B C Z
2/06
A B Z
1/02 1/04 1/06 1/08 2/00 2/02 2/04 2/06
Subdivision of IPCSubdivision of IPC
77
What is FI?What is FI? (2) (2)Relationship b/n FI and IPCRelationship b/n FI and IPC
Japan Patent OfficeJapan Patent Office
What is FI? (3)What is FI? (3)
Position of the FI in the reformed IPC Position of the FI in the reformed IPC
• Incorporation of the FI scheme into Incorporation of the FI scheme into the reformed IPC in the following the reformed IPC in the following areas:areas:
2007.01 Inverter devices (H02M7/) T024 A004
2007.10 Hybrid Vehicles (B60K6/) T010 A006
Air-conditioning systems (F24F) T035 A013
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Japan Patent OfficeJapan Patent Office
Limits of subdivision of IPC (FI)Limits of subdivision of IPC (FI)Limits of technical segmentation Limits of technical segmentation
by single viewpoint?by single viewpoint?
What is F-term ? (1)What is F-term ? (1)Background of F-termBackground of F-term
Destruction of technical segmentation !
Creation of technical group (“Theme”) Search by multi-dimensional index (“F-term) in the above technical group
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Japan Patent OfficeJapan Patent Office
Concept of ‘Theme’
All technical fields are divided by technical groups (“Theme”) defined by certain FI range
e.g., 3E003 (theme code) -> B65B 5/00-5/12 (FI coverage) Container packaging and wrapping operation
Approx. 1,800 themes are composed of unique search indices “F-terms”
What is F-term ?What is F-term ? (2) (2)
Concept of “Concept of “ThemeTheme””
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Japan Patent OfficeJapan Patent Office
Concept of ‘F-term’
Search keys (“F-term”) which classify prior art documents in light of some technical viewpoints
F-term has some layers so as to search hierarchically Indications comprised of 2 letters selected from A to Z
(viewpoint) and 2 numerals selected from 00 to 99 e.g., DD11 = DD (viewpoint) + 11 (numerical order)
What is F-term ?What is F-term ? (3) (3)
Concept of Concept of F-termF-term
1111
Japan Patent OfficeJapan Patent Office
AA01*BB01*CC01
Query
Preferable number of documents to be retrieved:
About 50~ 100 documents
Preferable number of documents to be retrieved:
About 50~ 100 documents
View point 1 AA01, AA02, ‥‥
F-terms
(Multi-dimensional viewpoints)
View point 2 BB01, BB02, ‥‥
View point 3 CC01, CC02, ‥‥
What is F-term ? (4) What is F-term ? (4) Relationship between Relationship between IPC/IPC/FIFI//ThemeTheme//F-termF-term
70,000 items
IPC IPC
190,000 items
FIFI
ThemeTheme
1212
Japan Patent OfficeJapan Patent Office
Theme Code
Viewpoint
Subject of theme
FI Coverage
What is F-term ?What is F-term ? (5) (5)Sample of F-term listSample of F-term list
1313
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Concept of F-term -Multiple Technological Viewpoints- (1)
Viewpoint AA Components
Viewpoint BA Functions and Uses
Viewpoint CA Structures
1414
Japan Patent OfficeJapan Patent Office
AA components
AA04 ··Calcium oxides
Concept of F-term -Multiple Technological Viewpoints- (2)
AA044G0314G031
1515
Japan Patent OfficeJapan Patent Office
BA24 ··Low heat expansion
AA components
BA Functionsand Uses
Concept of F-term -Multiple Technological Viewpoints- (3)
AA04 and BA244G0314G031
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Japan Patent OfficeJapan Patent Office
AA components
BA Functionsand Uses
CA StructuresCA05 ·Granularity
Refine the search effectively!Refine the search effectively!
Concept of F-term -Multiple Technological Viewpoints- (4)
AA04 and BA24and CA05
4G0314G031
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• Back-log reclassificationi.e. reassignment of revised F-terms to
the Japanese patent documents already classified in the existing F-terms
• Available in the JPO internal system & IPDL
What is F-term ? (6)What is F-term ? (6)Other features of F-termOther features of F-term
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Japan Patent OfficeJapan Patent Office
IPC FI F-term
Total number of items
70,000 190,000 340,000
Coverage of patent
documents
More than 100
countries
Japanese patent
documents
Japanese patent
documents
Coverage of technical fields
All AllApprox.
70%
Comparison between IPC/FI/F-term (1)Comparison between IPC/FI/F-term (1)
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Japan Patent OfficeJapan Patent Office
IPC FI F-term
RevisionQuarterly
at most Biannual Annual
Reclassification ○ ○ ○
Comparison between IPC/FI/F-term (2)Comparison between IPC/FI/F-term (2)
[FI Revision Policy][FI Revision Policy]To keep pace with technological developmentTo keep pace with technological developmentTo cope with the growing number of To cope with the growing number of
documents per the lowest layer of documents per the lowest layer of classificationclassification
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Japan Patent OfficeJapan Patent Office
Effective search by F-term (1)Effective search by F-term (1)
• F-term covers about 70% of all technical fields
• Average of F-term utilization rate : 42.4%• F-term utilization rate > 50%
: around 600 themes out of 1800 themes
F-term is effective tool for searching Japanese F-term is effective tool for searching Japanese patent documents in certain technical fieldspatent documents in certain technical fields
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Japan Patent OfficeJapan Patent Office
Effective search by F-term (2)Effective search by F-term (2)
..
..
.. F-term utilization rate > 70% : around 130 themes
Theme Subject of theme FI Coverage Number ofF- term
Number ofView Point
Number ofDocuments
F- termutilization
2B019 Fishing rods A01K87/ 00-87/ 06@Z 120 13 6982 82.2%2B032 Plows and harrows A01B3/ 00-25/ 00 210 12 7669 90.9%2B043 Guiding agricultural machines A01B69/ 00-69/ 08 209 14 6470 87.8%2B060 Transplanting machines (i.e., primarily for field work) A01C11/ 00-11/ 02,303@Z;11/ 04-14/ 00143 12 7533 89.6%2B064 Seedling- loading units of transplanting machines A01C11/ 02,350-11/ 02,366@Z 229 14 7109 80.7%2B074 Combines A01D41/ 00-41/ 16;47/ 00 264 36 5638 74.2%2B094 Threshing and return of unthreshed grain to threshersA01F12/ 18-12/ 28;12/ 52-12/ 52@Z319 35 7695 85.6%2B095 Thresher elements for separation and dust discharge A01F12/ 30-12/ 395;12/ 42-12/ 44@Z;12/ 48-12/ 48@Z;12/ 54-12/ 54@Z214 12 7635 88.2%2B382 Cutting units with reciprocating blades for harvesters A01D34/ 02-34/ 408 383 24 5822 87.5%2C060 Handling of continuous sheets of paper B41J 15/ 00-15/ 24 123 6 10372 73.8%2C066 Thermal printer controls B41J 3/ 20,114-3/ 20,116 197 15 8891 76.2%2C262 Color, gradation B41J 3/ 00@A-3/ 00@B 252 11 11084 70.5%2D049 Bulkheads adapted to foundation construction E02D5/ 00-5/ 20,103 143 14 7511 79.1%2D050 Placement and removal of piles and sheet piles and accessories related thereto E02D7/ 00-13/ 10 118 8 10571 70.4%2E001 Building environments E04B1/ 62-1/ 99@Z 456 30 44613 72.1%2E035 J oining of CORNER units of frames or wings E06B3/ 96-3/ 99@Z 55 8 2439 74.4%2E038 Gates E06B11/ 00-11/ 08 113 14 5261 77.0%2E182 Curtains and furnishings for windows or doors A47H1/ 00-33/ 02 274 20 9505 77.7%2F063 Measurement of length, angles, and the like using electrical or magnetic means G01B7/ 00-7/ 34,102 508 25 24564 70.8%2G014 Testing for short-circuits, discontinuities, leakage, or incorrect line connections G01R31/ 02-31/ 06 118 3 13833 72.2%2H040 Instruments for viewing the inside of hollow bodies G02B23/ 24-23/ 26@Z 113 7 15932 74.2%2H046 Optical fiber bundles G02B6/ 04-6/ 08 101 5 5251 75.6%2H051 Automatic focus adjustment G02B7/ 11-7/ 11@Z 515 18 24414 72.8%2H083 Light shielding for cameras G03B11/ 00-11/ 06 188 5 5237 80.8%2H100 Camera bodies and camera details or accessories G03B17/ 02;17/ 22 86 6 10587 75.0%2H104 Cameras adapted for combination with other photographic or optical apparatuses G03B17/ 48-17/ 55 129 8 4059 88.2%
..
..
..
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Japan Patent OfficeJapan Patent Office
F-term search (1)-1 F-term search (1)-1 [Example 1] Collision Avoidance Radar[Example 1] Collision Avoidance Radar
[Example 1]
Collision Avoidance Radar (G01S13/93)
IPC:IPC: G01S 13/93 Radar or analogous systems, designed for anti-collision purposes
FI:FI: G01S 13/93@Z Anti-collision systems for automobile
Theme: Theme: 5J070 (Radar systems and details thereof)
F-term :F-term : AD00 Antennas and polarized waves
AD13 . Fixed Antenna
BF00 Collision prevention
BF19 . Curved roadway
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Japan Patent OfficeJapan Patent Office
F-term search (1)-2 F-term search (1)-2 [Example 1] Collision Avoidance Radar[Example 1] Collision Avoidance Radar
Theme:Theme: 5J070 (Radar systems and details thereof)
F-term:F-term: AD00 Antennas and polarized waves
∟ AD13 . Fixed Antenna
BF00 Collision prevention
∟BF19 . Curved roadway
AA00 ・・・ ・・・ ・・・ ・・・ ・・・ ・・・ ・・・ ・・・ ・・・ ・・・RADARSYSTEMS INGENERAL
AD00 ・・・ ・・・ ・・・ ・・・ ・・・ AD13 ・・・ ・・・ ・・・ ・・・ANTENNASANDPOLARIZEDWAVES
. FixedAntenna
BF00 ・・・ ・・・ ・・・ ・・・ ・・・ ・・・ ・・・ BF19 ・・・ ・・・COLLISIONPREVENTION
. Curvedroadway
5J 070G01S7/00-7/42;13/00-13/95
AA
・・・
・・・
AD
BF
Radar systems and details thereof
2424
Japan Patent OfficeJapan Patent Office
F-term search (1)-3 F-term search (1)-3 [Example 1] Collision Avoidance Radar[Example 1] Collision Avoidance Radar
[ Search Formula ] G01S13/93@Z and AD13 and BF19
G01S 13/93@Z Anti-collision systems for automobile
2266
BF19 Curved roadway
265
AD13Fixed Antenna
19325
F-termFI
2525
Japan Patent OfficeJapan Patent Office
F-term search (1)-4 F-term search (1)-4 [Example 1] Collision Avoidance Radar[Example 1] Collision Avoidance Radar
JP 41.6%DE 16.3%
EP 13.6%
US 11.1%WO 11.5%
[Number of Patent Documents with Offices]
•The percentage of JP documents is over 40% of the totalThe percentage of JP documents is over 40% of the total Need for search of JP documentsNeed for search of JP documents F-term and FI are effective for searching JP patent F-term and FI are effective for searching JP patent
documentsdocuments 2626
Japan Patent OfficeJapan Patent Office
F-term search (2)-1 F-term search (2)-1 [Example 2] Telephone set structure[Example 2] Telephone set structure
[Example 2]
Telephone set structureClaim Element AnalysisClaim Element Analysis
ApplicationApplication
ConstructionalConstructionalelementelement
Purposes,Purposes,AdvantagesAdvantages
A portable telephoneA portable telephone
ComprisingComprising a microphone,a microphone,Fixed on a tip of an Fixed on a tip of an antenna extendable outantenna extendable outfrom the main device offrom the main device ofsaid portable telephonesaid portable telephone
the size of the devicethe size of the devicereducedreduced
View PointView Point ClaimClaim
AA07AA07Portable telephonesPortable telephones
EE05EE05MicrophoneMicrophone
LL05LL05AntennaAntenna
BB03BB03MiniaturizationMiniaturization
F-termF-term
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Japan Patent OfficeJapan Patent Office
F-term search (2)-2 F-term search (2)-2 [Example 2] Telephone set structure[Example 2] Telephone set structure
Application
Constructionalelement
Purposes, advantages
AA07AA07Portable phonePortable phone
LL05LL05AntennaAntenna EE05EE05
MicrophoneMicrophone
BB03BB03MiniaturizationMiniaturization
ProperProperAnswerAnswer
The final retrieval formula:The final retrieval formula:
““AA07*BB03*EE05*LL05”AA07*BB03*EE05*LL05”
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Japan Patent OfficeJapan Patent Office
F-term search (2)-3 F-term search (2)-3 [Example 2] Telephone set structure[Example 2] Telephone set structure
[Number of Patent Documents with Offices]
WO 10.1%
JP 55.6%
EP 9.3%
US 8.7%DE 5.8%
•The percentage of JP documents is over 55% of the totalThe percentage of JP documents is over 55% of the total Need for search of JP documentsNeed for search of JP documents F-term is effective for searching JP patent documentsF-term is effective for searching JP patent documents
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Japan Patent OfficeJapan Patent Office
Quality of Search Indices in the JPOQuality of Search Indices in the JPO
• Reclassification by outsource organization, technical advisors or examiners
Outsource organization has many experienced specialists with necessary knowledge
• Rigid quality control systemStringent check by examiners
(Check each case during early stage. Even if some criteria is satisfied, sampling check will be due.)
• JP’s reclassification (quantity and quality) is useful and important infrastructure for other Offices.
3030
Japan Patent OfficeJapan Patent Office
• JP plays an important role in the operation of the reformed IPC.
• Quantity and quality of JP’s reclassification will make contribution to search by other Offices
• Japanese classification (FI / F-term) is effective for searching JP patent documents.
ConclusionConclusion
Future: Super IPC (multi-dimensional viewpoint) ??
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Japan Patent OfficeJapan Patent Office
Thank you