The Strasbourg Agreement Concerning the International Patent Classification, referred to as the Strasbourg Agreement, is one of the special agreements concluded between the member states of the Paris Convention on the establishment of an international patent classification. It was signed in Strasbourg, France on March 24, 1971.
The Strasbourg Agreement has 17 articles. Its main contents include: the establishment of special unions; the adoption of international classifications; the definition, language and use of classifications; expert committees; the general assembly of special unions; the International Bureau; finances; revisions; contracting parties; entry into force; validity period; withdrawal; signature, language, notification, depositary duties; transitional provisions.
On March 24, 1971, the Contracting Parties considered that the general adoption of a unified system of classification for patents, inventors’ certificates, utility models and utility certificates was in the general interest and would likely establish closer international cooperation in the field of industrial property and contribute to the coordination of national legislation in that field; Recognizing the importance of the European Convention of December 19, 1954 on the International Classification of Patents for Invention, pursuant to which the Council of Europe established an international classification of patents for invention; Noting the universal value of this classification and its importance for all Contracting Parties to the Paris Convention.
The purpose of this Agreement is to generalize a unified system of classification for patents, inventors’ certificates, utility models and utility certificates, to establish closer international cooperation in the field of industrial property and to coordinate national legislation in that field. The Agreement establishes an international patent classification system that divides technology into 8 parts and 69,000 subclasses. Each subclass has an identifier, which is indicated by the national or regional industrial property office.
The Strasbourg Agreement was established on the basis of the international classification of patents for inventions created by the European Convention on the International Classification of Patents for Inventions of 1954. The agreement is administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization and is open to all member states of the Paris Convention. The agreement stipulates that all patent documents of the contracting parties should be marked with appropriate international patent symbols. Any country, whether or not it is a party to the agreement, can use the classification system. The international patent classification system is revised every five years. Only the member states of the Paris Union that have participated in the Strasbourg Agreement have the right to participate in the revision of the international patent classification system.
my country joined the agreement on June 17, 1996, and the agreement came into effect in my country on June 19, 1997.