Class 705 Reorganized

The USPTO has abolished subclass 14 in Class 705 and replaced it with three dozen subclasses, 14.1 through 14.73. The changes are contained in Classification Order #1888, which was published on Sept. 1, 2009. Established in 1997, Class 705 covers patents relating to Data Processing: Financial, Business Practice, Management or Cost/Price Determination. It is one of the classes covering so-called business method inventions. According to the USPTO database, approximately 20,552 patents, the vast majority issued since 1976, are classified in Class 705. More than twice that number, roughly 54,206, of published applications are also classified in Class 705.