* Note on Patent Classification patents are given classifications based on their technical content which allows retrieval of patents according to the nature of the inventions revealed therein. The International Patent Classification (IPC) consists of about 70,000 classification symbols divided between 8 basic sections (a to h), relating to different basic kinds of technology. The Classification system is revised constantly to ensure that new and emerging technologies are included, with a new edition released yearly. A classification code is given for each inventive element in a patent. A patent may contain two or more inventions as long as they are sufficiently related, for instance, a new chemical compound and its use as a medicine or herbicide. Accordingly, a patent may need a number of classification symbols to cover the whole of its content. The accompanying table and graph collate the total number of classifications allocated to granted patents in 2020. Each individual classification represents an inventive element disclosed in a patent, so this is akin to a tally of inventiveness. Classifications are grouped by IPC section.
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