It was announced on Wednesday the USPTO and the Danish Patent and Trademark Office (DKPTO) have agreed to work on reclassification of issued U.S. patents and published applications in attempt to assist examiners with their review of pending applications. The USPTO, the European Patent Office (EPO), and the Japanese Patent Office (JPO) have worked on a series of new classifications in recognition of several new complex technologies being presented for patent. According to Commissioner for Patents John Doll, "[a]s the amount of patent-related information has skyrocketed in recent years, it is critical that patent offices around the world keep pace in order to ensure that the most relevant information is found quickly and easily by patent examiners." Director General of the DKPTO, Jesper Kongstad, stated that "[w]e are looking forward to combining our expertise with the expertise of the USPTO, and we hope that this will be the first of many projects in cooperation with our international colleagues," further noting that "[w]e have the competence and the available resources to get the job done." The USPTO currently uses utility class numbers 002 through 987 (a total of 436 utility classes used), 33 design classes, and 1 plant class.

USPTO News Release: LINK
Danish Patent and Trademark Office News Releases: LINK
USPTO Classifications Website: LINK