What is the Master Classification Database (MCD)?
The MCD is a raw data product*. All the current classifications are usually contained within the weekly DOCDB (14.7) and the subsequent weekly deliveries. However, whenever a huge update program is run, e.g. triggered by large reclassification contributions by the cooperating patent authorities, they will not be contained in the regular weekly DOCDB productions, but only in the next annual backfile, whereas the MCD database will already have them in the subsequent quarterly delivery. For the time being, however, there is no scheduled large reclassification contributions in place. So in fact, the product MCD is most suitable for users who want to classify large internal patent collections by subject matter and are not interested in other aspects of patent information. The typical users being examining patent offices, patent libraries and enterprises having very large compilations of internal documentations. International Patent Classification (IPC) symbols are stored at both a family an
