IPC/CPC hierarchy drill-down and lateral expansion for patent discovery
SkillScore95Maintained
Automatic
◆Research pack
Last verified 8/22/2026
What it changes
Passed 19 of 20 test cases with the skill, and 15 of 20 without it.
Without skill77%
With skill95%
Checks it passed that the model alone missed
The output includes newly discovered relevant classification codes.
The response identifies both primary and secondary classification codes.
The response requires assessing patent density at each classification level.
and 3 more in the full report
5 fixed16 passed either way0 still failing1 broke
Pass-rate lift
+18 pp
Tokens
-4%
Agent turns
0%
Response time
-28%
Model gemini-3.6-flashMeasured 8/22/2026v121 of 22 cases passed with skill · 20 comparable
Tokens, turns and time describe resource use, not a dollar price.
See it in action
One of 3 test cases the skill fixed. Same model, same prompt, with and without the skill.
1 of 3
Prompt
While drilling down into CPC group G06N 3/02 for neural network hardware accelerators, what property must be assessed at each level before committing to a subgroup?
What was checked, without and with the skill
Checked
Without skill
With skill
The response requires assessing patent density at each classification level.
Missed
Passed
case-15 · gemini-3.6-flash · 8/22/2026 · answers are capped and redacted
What's inside
The instructions your model reads when the skill loads.
SKILL.md63 linessingle file
Classification Navigation
Navigates the IPC/CPC patent classification hierarchy to discover patents through structured taxonomy traversal — drilling down into subclasses and expanding laterally to related classes.
Stages
1. Top-Level Classification Identification
Determine relevant IPC/CPC sections and classes from seed patents or technology description
Map the technology domain to classification entry points
Identify primary and secondary classification codes
2. Subclass Drill-Down
For each identified class, drill into subclass, main group, and subgroup levels
Assess patent density at each level
Identify the most specific relevant classification codes
3. Lateral Expansion to Related Classes
From identified subclasses, explore sibling and cousin classes
Follow "see also" and "related" cross-references in classification schemes
Identify adjacent technology areas that may contain relevant patents
4. Cross-Reference Validation
Verify that lateral expansion yields relevant results
Check that discovered classes actually contain patents related to the target technology
Prune irrelevant branches and confirm final classification scope
Available SOPs
SOP
Role
patent-query-formulation
Generate IPC/CPC-based search queries
patent-categorization
Validate classification relevance of found patents
saturation-detection
Determine when classification space is fully explored
Execution Guidance
Start broad (section/class level) and narrow down based on relevance
IPC and CPC diverge at subgroup level — check both schemes
Pay attention to classification reform dates — codes may have changed
Cross-references in CPC scheme definitions reveal non-obvious connections