Patent drafters rarely use everyday words. A "pooper scooper" might be an "excrement collection implement". Classification codes group patents by technology regardless of wording, which is why professional searchers rely on them.
What CPC is
The Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) is used by the USPTO and EPO. Codes look like A47G 19/22: section A (human necessities) → class A47 (furniture, domestic articles) → subclass A47G → group 19/22 (drinking vessels).
Step-by-step
- Run a keyword search on Google Patents and find 3-5 clearly relevant patents.
- On each, scroll to "Classifications" and note the most specific codes (the ones marked with a star or listed first).
- Search by code: in Google Patents enter
cpc=A47G19/2205, optionally plus a keyword. - Use the CPC scheme browser on the USPTO or EPO site to check neighbouring groups.
- Combine a code with dates (e.g. after 2015) to keep the list manageable.
Where to start
Each of our free product patent landscapes lists the most common CPC subclasses for that product, for example in home & cleaning or garden & outdoor. That's a quick shortcut to step 2.
Or let us do it
Our $99 report combines semantic and keyword search over 9.7M patent families and charts the 10 closest against your features in 24 hours. See also how to do a patent search yourself. Not legal advice.
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Not legal advice. Not exhaustive.