MPEP Section 902.04, Classification Orders

Executive summary:

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902.04 Classification Orders

Classification orders **>are issued monthly; each order details the changes resulting from a classification project effective< that month.

Since classification projects issue monthly throughout the year, orders are used to bridge the gap between the time a project issues and the time the other search tools (Manual of Classification, Index to the *>U.S. Patent Classification System<, Classification Definitions) are updated.

*>A classification< order includes the following:

(A) **>New< class schedules *>and/or< changes to existing class schedules necessitated by the project;

**>

(B) < Source and Disposition lists showing how the old art has been distributed into the newly established subclasses; *

(C) < A revised concordance showing the relationship between the newly established subclasses and their International Patent Classification (IPC) counterparts>; and

(D) Necessary changes to the definitions that corroborate the changes in the schedules<

Copies of classification orders are available online to USPTO personnel from the Classification Home Page under the heading Classification Reports. The Classification Home Page >(http://ptoweb:8081/)< is accessible from the desktop via the Patent Examiner's Toolkit.