Candy ECLA Classifications

Soon the EPO will bid a fond farewell to the European Classification System (ECLA), which has already been frozen as of July 2012 and will soon be replaced by the  Cooperative Patent Classification System (CPC).  The full rollout for the CPC is January 1, 2013, but the EPO and USPTO have already released the complete CPC scheme, some finalized CPC definitions and an ECLA-to-CPC-to-IPC concordance in a recent “CPC launch package.”  Professional patent searchers will need to stay familiar with ECLA, since important patent prior art may have ECLA classification which will serve as a useful search tool.  Just in time for Halloween, let’s take a look at the sweetest ECLA classes, as well as some of the patents classified with these candy-themed codes!

After the jump, sample the sugariest ECLA class and sub-classes!

The following candy-themed ECLA class and sub-classes were located using the Espacenet Classification search by browsing the classification hierarchy under A: Human Necessities>A23:Foods or foodstuffs; their treatment, not covered by other classes:

A23G – COCOA; COCOA PRODUCTS, e.g. CHOCOLATE; SUBSTITUTES FOR COCOA OR COCOA PRODUCTS; CONFECTIONERY; CHEWING GUM; ICE-CREAM; PREPARATION THEREOF

Some Subclasses (example records are classified with narrower subclasses of these broader subclasses):

• A23G1 - Cocoa; Cocoa products, e.g. chocolate; Substitutes therefor (kitchen equipment for cocoa preparation A47J , e.g. apparatus for making beverages A47J31/00)
  • Example Patent Record: EP1677617  (A1) – Manufacture of Chocolate Products (A23G1/00P22H4; A23G1/22H4; A23G1/54)
    
  

  EP1677617

• A23G3 - Sweetmeats; Confectionery; Marzipan; Coated or filled products (chewing gum A23G/4/00) [C0509]
  •  Example Patent Record: JP2012521192  (A) – Confectioneries Providing Mouth-Moistening Refreshment (A23G3/36; A23G3/54; A23G3/54H)
    
• A23G4 - Chewing gum (medicinal preparations characterised by chewing gum form [N: A61K9/00M18B2])[N0509]
  • Example Patent Record: MX2012002947  (A) – Chewing Gums Having Improved Removability Based on Extensional Flow Properties (A23G4/08)
    
• A23G7 - Other apparatus [N: or process] specially adapted for the chocolate or confectionery industry
  • Example Patent Record: ES2388400  (T3) – Device for Conveying Sticks in an Apparatus for Inserting Sticks into Ice Cream Bodies (A23G7/00F)
    
  

  ES2388400

• A23G9  -  Frozen sweets, e.g. ice confectionery, ice-cream; Mixtures therefor
  •  Example Patent Record: CO6480919  (A2) – A Slush (A23G9/04D)
    

The CPC is a groundbreaking new classification system which will continue the harmonization of the patent search and classification efforts of the USPTO and EPO, but don’t forget one of it’s main predecessors, the ECLA Classification System!  ECLA has some pretty sweet classes hidden in the depths of its hierarchy.

Do you know of any candy-themed codes from other patent classification systems?  Let us know about them in the comments!

This post was contributed by Joelle Mornini. The Intellogist blog is provided for free by Intellogist’s parent company Landon IP, a major provider of patent searches, trademark searches, technical translations, and information retrieval services

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