IfcProxy is intended to be a kind of a container for wrapping objects which are defined by associated properties, which may or may not have a geometric representation and placement in space. A proxy can have a semantic meaning, defined by the Name attribute, and property definitions, attached through the property assignment relationship, which definition can be outside of the definitions given by the current release of IFC. 

The ProxyType can give an indication to which high level semantic breakdown of object the semantic definition of the proxy relates to. The Tag attribute can be used to assign a human or system interpretable identifier (such as a serial number or bar code).

• NOTE: Given that only a limited number of semantic constructs can be formally defined within IFC there has to be a mechanism for capturing those constructs that are not yet defined by IFC.
• NOTE: Product proxies are a mechanism that allows to exchange data that is part of the project but not necessarily part of the IFC model. Those proxies can have geometric representations assigned.