Locarno Classification: A Simple Guide
The Locarno Classification is an international system for organising industrial designs into categories. It is named after the Locarno Agreement and is used by patent and design offices around the world, including the USPTO, the EUIPO and the UKIPO, to group designs so they can be searched efficiently.
How it is structured
- 32 classes — broad product categories, such as Class 06 (furnishing), Class 14 (recording, communication or information-retrieval equipment), or Class 09 (packages and containers).
- Subclasses — narrower groups within each class, refining the category further.
- Products can be classified in more than one class depending on their use and appearance.
Why it matters for searching
Knowing the right Locarno class lets you narrow a design patent search to the products that are actually relevant. For example, searching for a bottle without a class returns a huge amount of unrelated packaging; filtering to Class 09 focuses on containers and bottles.
A practical example
A smartphone cover is typically classified under Class 14 (equipment for recording, communication or retrieval of information). A seller searching for cases can use Class 14 as a starting point and combine it with an image search to catch designs that were filed under a different class.
Limitations
Classification is a filing convenience, not a description of the design. Two visually identical products are sometimes classified differently by different filers. That is why the most reliable search combines a keyword + class search with a visual search, so you catch overlaps no matter how the design was classified.
How PatPulse uses classification
PatPulse lets you filter searches by Locarno class and also search by image, giving you both the discipline of classification and the safety net of visual comparison across US, EU and UK design patents.