Elimination of Patents Search Templates
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or Office) is eliminating the Patents Search Templates from the USPTO Web site. In 2006, the USPTO implemented Patents Search Templates, which were created to better identify the field of search, search tools, and search methodologies that should be considered each time an invention related to a particular USPC is searched. There are over 1200 search templates covering more than 600 USPC classes and subclasses. Historically, usage of the search templates by the public has been extremely low. Additionally, various aspects of the search templates, such as references to commercial database vendor information, are in need of updating. Further, in January 2013, the USPTO launched a new classification system, the Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) system, that is based on the International Patent Classification (IPC) system. The CPC, a joint patent classification system developed by the USPTO and the European Patent Office (EPO), incorporates the best classification practices of both the U.S. and European systems. Since CPC is a detailed, collaborative, and dynamic system that will enable patent examiners and the public to efficiently conduct thorough patent searches, the search templates will become obsolete.
- Task
- Read the news
- Patent or trademark
- both
- Legacy system
- —
- Current entry point
- www.federalregister.gov/documents/2014/05/21/2014-11741/elimination-of-patents-search-templates (permanent link in the Federal Register, verified 2026-09-30)
- Legacy system and where it moved
- No legacy system name mention in title or summary )
- Fee
- No fee mention in title or summary )
- What you need (account or API key)
- No account or key mention in title or summary )
- Published
- 2014-05-21
- Document type
- Notice
- Source
- USPTO documents published in the Federal Register (Federal Register API)(retrieved 2026-10-06)
Everything in the same category
Read the news (all 1988) · both (all 2333)
Related entry points
- Request for Comments on Proposed Elimination of Patents Search Templates
- Request for Comments on Patents Search Templates
- Changes To Practice for Continuing Applications, Requests for Continued Examination Practice, and Applications Containing Patentably Indistinct Claims
- Notice of Public Hearing and Request for Comments on Matters Related to the Harmonization of Substantive Patent Law
- Notice Regarding the Elimination of the Fee for Petitions To Make Special Filed Under the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Programs
- Disclaimer Practice in Patents and Patent Applications
- Request for Submission of Topics for USPTO Quality Case Studies
- Request for Comments and Notice of Roundtable Event on Leveraging Electronic Resources To Retrieve Information From Applicant's Other Applications and Streamline Patent Issuance
- Changes in Accelerated Examination Practice
- United States Patent and Trademark Office and Japan Patent Office Collaborative Search Pilot Program
- United States Patent and Trademark Office and Korean Intellectual Property Office Collaborative Search Pilot Program
- Request for Comments Regarding the Continuation of the Accelerated Examination Program
- Request for Comments on Request for Continued Examination (RCE) Practice
- Request for Comments on Determining Whether a Claim Element Is Well-Understood, Routine, Conventional for Purposes of Subject Matter Eligibility
- Elimination of the Postal Postcard in the Patent Center Electronic Office Action Program
- Extension of, and New Combined Petition Option for Participation in, the Expanded Collaborative Search Pilot Program