WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ORGANIZATION
IPC ADVANCED LEVEL SUBCOMMITTEE
Project: A 001 , A62D 3/00
Comments on the definition proposal
Date: September 26, 2006
We have kept below only the part of Annex 18 on which we would like to comment.
We took into account the EPO proposal to remove empty definitions and phrases of
the type “Subject matter of main group …” in the statement, so we do not repeat comments on
these items.
Title - A62D 3/00
Processes for making harmful chemical substances harmless, or less
harmful, by effecting a chemical change in the substances (consuming
noxious gases by combustion F23G 7/06)
…
Relationship between large subject matter areas
The disposal of solid waste or the reclamation of contaminated soil is classified elsewhere, i.e.
in class B09. However, the treatment of a specific harmful chemical substance in solid waste
resulting in the change of its chemical constitution to make it harmless or less harmful is
covered by A62D 3/00.
In the same way, treatment of sludge is not classified here with the exception of the treatment
of a specific harmful chemical substance in the sludge, e.g. in residues from industrial
processes (excluding contaminants from municipal sewage treatment) resulting in the change
of its chemical constitution to make it harmless or less harmful.
Preventive chemical treatments, e.g. to prevent the formation of harmful chemical substances
is classified elsewhere, depending from the kind of treatment and/or the context of
application.
Processes using enzymes or micro-organisms classified in A62D3/00 are also classified in
subclass C12S.
References relevant to classification in this group
This group does not cover:
Detoxification of foods or foodstuffs
A23L 1/015
Apparatus for chemical, physical or physico-chemical processes
per se
B01
Treatment of gases, e.g.:

Chemical or biological purification of smoke or
fumes, e.g. flue gas
B01D 53/34

Purification or modifying the chemical compositions
of combustible gases containing carbon monoxide
C10K

Consuming noxious gases by combustion
F23G 7/06
Chemical processes resulting in the production of a useful
product, e.g.:

using untreated contaminated fly ash as raw material
in the manufacture of cement

metals obtained from residues or scrap
Treatment of radioactively-contaminated waste
C04B 7/26
C22B
G21F 9/00
Examples of places where the subject matter of this class group is covered when specially
adapted, used for a particular purpose, or incorporated in a larger system:
Treatment of waste water, sewage or sludge
C02F
Making explosives harmless by detonation
F42D 5/04
Informative references
Attention is drawn to the following places, which may be of interest for search:
Disinfection or sterilizing methods specially adapted for refuse
A61L 11/00
Waste or refuse as compounding ingredient for glass, cement,
mortar, concrete, artificial stone or ceramics
C03, C04B
Materials for absorbing liquids to remove pollution, e.g. oil,
gasoline, fat
C09K 3/32
Destructive distillation of carbonaceous materials
C10B
Micro-organisms, enzymes or compositions thereof
C12N
Consuming waste by combustion
F23G
Special rules of classification within this group
In this main group, at each hierarchical level, in the absence of an indication to the contrary
classification is made in the first appropriate place.
When classifying in groups A62D3/00 to A62D3/40, any claimed or fully disclosed or
identified a harmful chemical substance which is not provided by the classification in the first
appropriate place, and which is considered to represent information of interest for search, may
also be indexed in one or more of groups A62D 101/00 to A62D 101/49. Such nonobligatory classification should be given as “additional information”.
….
Title - A62D 3/34
Dehalogenation using reactive chemical agents able to degrade
References relevant to classification in this group
This group does not cover:
Electrolytic degradation of harmful substances
A62D 3/115
Dehalogenation in molten chemical reagents
A62D 3/32
Title - A62D 3/35
by hydrolysis
Definition statement
This group covers:
Subject matter of group A62D 3/30 wherein the distinct chemical material added in this
process step contains water in its ionic form that chemically reacts with the harmful
chemical substances to decompose it.
References relevant to classification in this group
This group does not cover:
Electrolytic degradation of harmful substances
A62D 3/20
Title – A62D101/00
Harmful chemical substances made harmless, or less harmful, by effecting
chemical change
Definition statement
This group covers:
Particular harmful chemical substances made harmless or made less harmful when the
process of making them harmless or less harmful is classified in group A62D 3/00.
Harmful chemical substances in industrial sludge, e.g., residues from refining processes
are included, but not those in sludge from (municipal) sewage treatment.
Subject matter of main wherein the chemical or physico-chemical processes specify the When
in a document classified in group A62D 3/00 the harmful chemical substances made harmless,
or less harmful are specified and the combination of the substances with the process classified
in group A62D3/00 might be useful for suture searches, then
Relationship between large subject matter areas
Group A62D 101/00 is an indexing scheme and does not cover the harmful chemical
substances per se or the processes for making the harmful chemical substances harmless or
less harmful. Chemical substances per se, whether harmful or not, are covered by other
subclasses such as the subclasses of C01, C07, C08, and C12.
Group A62D 101/00 is used to index the harmful chemical substances, if of interest, in order
to allow the search of combinations of a process with substances. This indexing scheme can
be used only in combination with group A62D 3/00 including its subgroups
Special rules of classification within this group
To be appropriate for obligatory classification in this group, the harmful chemical substance
specified must be claimed or fully disclosed or identified (i.e., at least part of its particular
chemical transformation or an essential feature of the transformation must be disclosed).
When classifying into groups 101/02–101/08, classification is also made in one or more of the
groups 101/20–101/49 according to the specific harmful chemical substance, if of interest.
Title - A62D 101/02
Chemical warfare substances, e.g. cholinesterase inhibitor
Definition statement
This group covers:
Subject matter of group A62D 3/60 wherein the harmful chemical substances are
intended to incapacitate or destroy human enemies, i.e. chemical warfare substances.
These substances include nerve, blister/vesicant, blood, and pulmonary affecting
substances.
Informative References
Attention is drawn to the following places, which may be of interest for search:
Chemical warfare equipment
F41H 9/00
Title - A62D 101/04
Pesticides, e.g. insecticides, herbicides, fungicides or nematicides
Definition statement
This group covers:
Chemical substances intended to prevent, repel, destroy, or mitigate pests.
A pest is a plant or animal which is detrimental to humans or human concerns, e.g.
agriculture or livestock production.
Informative References
Attention is drawn to the following places, which may be of interest for search:
Pesticides or herbicides per se
A01N
Title - A62D 101/06
Explosives, propellants or pyrotechnics, e.g. rocket fuel or napalm
Definition statement
This group covers:
Chemical substances consisting of a chemical compound or mixtures in a gas, liquid, or
solid state that are explosive (e.g. bombs, TNT), a chemical reaction propellant (e.g. for
rockets or bullets), or a pyrotechnic (e.g. fireworks, flares, napalm).
Informative References
Attention is drawn to the following places, which may be of interest for search:
Explosive or thermic compositions per se or their manufacture
C06B
Title - A62D 101/08
Toxic combustion residues, e.g. toxic substances contained in fly ash from
waste incineration
Definition statement
This group covers:
Subject matter of group A62D 3/60 wherein the harmful chemical substances consist of
Chemical compounds that are by-products of combustion or can be components of
mixtures that are by-products of combustion.
Informative References
Attention is drawn to the following places, which may be of interest for search:
Neutralizing poisonous gases during blasting
Title - A62D 101/20
Organic substances
C06B 23/02
Definition statement
This group covers:
Subject matter of group A62D 3/60 for Harmful organic chemical substances. that
consist of chemical compounds or mixtures which contain either:

at least two atoms of carbon bonded to each other,

one atom of carbon bonded to an atom of hydrogen or halogen, or

one atom of carbon bonded to at least one atom of nitrogen by a single or double bond
(i.e., organic substances).
Despite the above statement: compounds consisting of only carbon atoms (e.g.
fullerenes) cyanogen, cyanogen halides, cyanamide, metal carbides, phosgene,
thiophosgene, hydrocyanic acid, isocyanic acid, isothiocyanic acid, fulmenic acid,
unsubstituted carbamic acid, and salts of the previously mentioned acids are excluded
per se (i.e. when they are not combined with an organic component within a harmful
chemical substance) from this group and its indents.
Informative references
Attention is drawn to the following places, which may be of interest for search:
Organic chemical compounds per se
C07
General methods and apparatus for preparation of organic
chemicals
C07B
Title - A62D 101/22
containing halogen
Definition statement
This group covers:
Subject matter of group A62D 3/70 wherein the Harmful chemical substances being
organic and containing a halogen, i.e. fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine, or astatine.
Informative References
Attention is drawn to the following places, which may be of interest for search:
Methods and apparatus for preparing organic chemicals
containing halogen
C07B 30/00
Title - A62D 101/24
containing heavy metals
Definition statement
This group covers:
Subject matter of group A62D 3/70 wherein the Harmful organic substances containing
one or more metals other than: Lithium (Li), Sodium (Na), Potassium (K), Rubidium
(Rb), Cesium (Cs), Francium (Fr), Calcium (Ca), Strontium (Sr), Barium (Ba), Radium
(Ra), Beryllium (Be), Magnesium (Mg), and Aluminum (Al).
The harmful chemical substances may contain lithium (Li), sodium (Na), Potassium (K),
Rubidium (Rb), Cesium (Cs), Francium (Fr), Calcium (Ca), Strontium (Sr), Barium
(Ba), Radium (Ra), Beryllium (Be), Magnesium (Mg), or Aluminum (Al) if they also
have a metal appropriate for this group.
Informative references
Attention is drawn to the following places, which may be of interest for search:
Organic compounds per se containing elements of the eight
group of the Periodic system
C07F 15/00
Title - A62D 101/26
containing nitrogen or phosphorus
Definition statement
This group covers:
Subject matter of group A62D 3/70 wherein the Harmful organic substances containing
one or more of the following: nitrogen or phosphorus.
Informative references
Attention is drawn to the following places, which may be of interest for search:
Organic compounds containing phosphorus
C07F 9/00
Preparation of organic compounds containing nitrogen atoms that C07C 249/00
are doubly bound
Title - A62D 101/28
containing oxygen, sulfur, selenium or tellurium, i.e. chalcogen
Definition statement
This group covers:
Subject matter of group A62D 3/70 wherein the Harmful organic substances containing
oxygen, sulfur, selenium, or tellurium.
Title - A62D 101/40
Inorganic substances
Definition statement
This group covers:
Subject matter of group A62D 3/60 for Inorganic harmful chemical substances that
consist of chemical compounds or mixtures which do not contain any component that
includes either:

at least two atoms of carbon bonded to each other,

one atom of carbon bonded to an atom of hydrogen or halogen, or

one atom of carbon bonded to at least one atom of nitrogen by a single or double
bond (i.e., inorganic substances).
Despite the above statement: compounds consisting of only carbon atoms (e.g.
fullerenes) cyanogen, cyanogen halides, cyanamide, metal carbides, phosgene,
thiophosgene, hydrocyanic acid, isocyanic acid, isothiocyanic acid, fulmenic acid,
unsubstituted carbamic acid, and salts of the previously mentioned acids are included
per se (i.e. when they are not combined with an organic component within a harmful
chemical substance) from this group and its indents.
Informative references
Attention is drawn to the following places, which may be of interest for search:
Inorganic compounds per se
C01
Title - A62D 101/41
Inorganic fibers, e.g. asbestos
Definition statement
This group covers:
Subject matter of group A62D 3/80 wherein the Harmful inorganic substances
containing one or more components that are fibrous.
The fibers may be naturally occurring or man-made from inorganic substances, e.g.
made primarily from rock, clay, slag or glass.
Informative references
Title - A62D 101/43
containing heavy metals, in the bonded or free state
Definition statement
This group covers:
Harmful inorganic substances containing one or more metals other than: lithium (Li),
sodium (Na), Potassium (K), Rubidium (Rb), Cesium (Cs), Francium (Fr), Calcium
(Ca), Strontium (Sr), Barium (Ba), Radium (Ra), Beryllium (Be), Magnesium (Mg), and
Aluminum (Al).
The harmful chemical substances may contain lithium (Li), sodium (Na), Potassium (K),
Rubidium (Rb), Cesium (Cs), Francium (Fr), Calcium (Ca), Strontium (Sr), Barium
(Ba), Radium (Ra), Beryllium (Be), Magnesium (Mg), or Aluminum (Al) if they also
have a metal appropriate for this group.
Informative references
Title - A62D 101/45
containing nitrogen or phosphorus
Definition statement
This group covers:
Harmful inorganic substances containing nitrogen or phosphorus.
Informative references
Title - A62D 101/47
containing oxygen, sulfur, selenium or tellurium, e.g. chalcogen
Definition statement
This group covers:
Harmful inorganic substances containing oxygen, sulfur, selenium, or tellurium.
Informative references
Title - A62D 101/49
containing halogen
Definition statement
This group covers:
Harmful inorganic substances containing a halogen, i.e. fluorine, chlorine, bromine,
iodine or astatine.
Informative references
Title – C09K 3/32
for treating liquid pollutants, e.g. oil, gasoline, fat
References relevant to classification in this group
Places in relation to which this group is residual:
Materials for treatment of water, waste water, or sewage
C02F
Informative references
Attention is drawn to the following places, which may be of interest for search:
Processes for making harmful chemical substances harmless, or
less harmful, by effecting a chemical change in the substances
A62D 3/00