Section Y: Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies

This section exists only in the CPC system and has no IPC equivalent.

Classes

Subclasses

341

Main Groups

15,487

CPC Total

Description

Section Y provides supplementary cross-sectional tagging for inventions spanning multiple IPC sections or representing emerging technological developments that do not fit neatly within traditional classification boundaries. It captures hybrid technologies, interdisciplinary innovations, and special technical areas previously organized under US Patent and Trademark Office cross-reference art collections (XRACs). Codes in this section complement primary IPC classifications rather than replace them, enabling improved retrieval of patents addressing contemporary or boundary-crossing technological challenges. This classification system facilitates discovery of inventions at the intersection of distinct technical fields and supports analysis of complex, multi-domain innovations.

Visualizations

Timeline

Size of each class by number of subgroups

Classes in section Y by descendant count
Class	Title	Descendants
Y02	TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE	339
Y04	INFORMATION OR COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES HAVING AN IMPACT ON OTHER TECHNOLOGY AREAS	42
Y10	TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC	15,102

Child Classifications

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Y02 TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
Y04 INFORMATION OR COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES HAVING AN IMPACT ON OTHER TECHNOLOGY AREAS
Y10 TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC