# CPC classification

The Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) is the hierarchical coding system the USPTO and European Patent Office use to sort patents by technology area. Every patent receives CPC codes describing its field — "H02J 7/00," for example, covers circuit arrangements for charging batteries. Browsing a CPC class is the most systematic way to survey a technology area, because it finds related patents even when they describe the same idea in different words.

**Full entry:** https://patentbrief.org/glossary/cpc-classification

**All patent terms:** https://patentbrief.org/glossary

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_Source: PatentBrief — https://patentbrief.org. A plain-English glossary of US patent terms._