Strasbourg Agreement 1971
The international patent classification, abbreviated IPC, was introduced by the Strasbourg Convention of 1971. A hierarchical system of language-independent symbols for the classification of patents and utility models according to the different technical areas to which they belong is created. This agreement can be signed in Strasbourg until 30 September 1971. The agreement – commonly referred to as the CPI Agreement – was concluded in 1971 and amended in 1979. It is open to States Parties to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (1883). The instruments of ratification or accession are to be filed with the Director General of WIPO. The siege agreement with the country in which the organization has its statutory headquarters provides that, if working capital is not sufficient, that country grants advances. The amount of these advances and the conditions under which they are granted are the subject of separate agreements between that country and the organization. The audit is carried out by one or more special Union countries or by external auditors, in accordance with financial regulations. They are appointed by the Assembly with their approval. Signing followed by the tabling of a ratification instrument or the adoption of the financial provisions of the Special Union; This agreement may be revised from time to time by a special conference of the countries of the Special Union. The right of termination under this article is not exercised by any country until the expiry of a five-year period from the date on which it becomes a member of the Special Union.
Any country that does not consider any immediate or delayed novelty and in which the patenting procedure or other forms of protection does not provide for research in the state of the art may declare that it does not undertake to include symbols for classification groups and subgroups in the documents and opinions covered in paragraph 3. If these conditions apply only to certain types of protection or certain technological sectors, the country concerned can only assert this reservation to the extent that the conditions apply. In the two years following the entry into force of this agreement, countries that are parties to the European Convention and are not yet members of the Special Union may, upon request, enjoy the same rights in the Expert Committee as if they are members of the Special Union. Any decision considered by one-fifth of the countries represented and having the right to vote as the basic structure of the classification or with substantial reclassification is subject to a majority of three quarters of the countries represented and voting.