The UK Patent Office has its own Patent Classification Key (the UKC key). All published UK patents are classified using the UKC key. The documents classified using the UKC key now represent only a small proportion of the total number of patents published globally. All published UK patent specifications are also classified using the International Patent Classification (IPC) system and, following publication, under the European Patent Office's classification system ECLA. Consequently, the value and future of the UKC key has been brought into question. The UK Patent Office is therefore running a consultation on whether there is a continuing need for the UKC.
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