The Strasbourg Agreement Concerning the International Patent Classification (or IPC), also known as the IPC Agreement, is an international treaty that established a common classification for patents for invention, inventors' certificates, utility models and utility certificates, known as the "International Patent Classification" (IPC).[6] The treaty was signed in Strasbourg, France, on 24 March 1971; it entered into force on 7 October 1975[1] and was amended on 28 September 1979. The Agreement and the certified statement were registered by the World Intellectual Property Organization on 28 February 1980.[7]
Signed | 24 March 1971 |
---|---|
Effective | 7 October 1975[1] |
Condition | see Article 13 of the Agreement[2] |
Parties | 65[3] |
Depositary | Director-General of WIPO[4] |
Language | English, French[5] |
States that are parties to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (1883) may become party to the Strasbourg Agreement.[8] As of April 2023, there were 65 contracting parties to the Strasbourg Agreement.[3] The Holy See, the Iran and Liechtenstein signed the Agreement in 1971[9] but have not ratified it.[3]