Pre-Exam Mock under exam conditions on 7 December 2021 - and on 3 February 2022
A mock Pre-Exam under exam conditions will be available on 7 December 2021, based on the exam of 2019. See also here.
Note that the Mock Pre-Exam paper may not include calendars - you can take them from the Pre-Exam 2019 Compendium here.
Update 14/1/2022: Pre-Exam candidates have been informed by the EQE secretariat that:
"A further mock flow is offered on 3 February 2022 between 9:30 and 17:30 CET under examination-like conditions to test your equipment and settings (e.g. camera and microphone).
For those who have not yet done such a test, please note that this one is indispensable before sitting the EQE."
(See below for the full message)
Note that the Mock Pre-Exam paper may not include calendars - you can take them from the Pre-Exam 2021 Compendium here.
You will not receive calendars with the actual Pre-Exam 2022. In the actual exam EQE 2022 the basis for calculating time limits are the days on which the EPO filing offices are closed as published in the Official Journal. Candidates are encouraged to have the closing days of 2020, 2021 and 2022 at hand during the examination, as wella s a list of Saturdays and Sundays in these years. No calendars will be provided with the examination papers. See here.
Please feel invited to post your experiences with the Mock and the platform, comments and tips as comments to this blog. It is appreciated if you use your name or a nickname in your post, for easy reference (you can use the Anonymous option and close the message with your name, or use the google account or name option).
Update 14/1/2022:
The message from the EQE secretariat informing candidates about the Mock on 3 Feb 2022 (emphasis added):
It will contain part 3 of the pre-examination 2021 only. [Note from the blog editor: the main purpose os to test the equipment; if you want to practice the exam, use the set of 4 currently available flows comprising the full pre-examination 2021 that has no proctoring and no chat.]
The mock is with video and audio surveillance and you will also be able
to try the integrated chat widget. Human invigilation will however be very
limited.
When taking the entry image at the start of the flow, you must hold your
valid ID card or passport into the camera, next to your face.
The participant password is: abc
Candidates are advised to strictly follow the recommendations of
WISEflow when setting up their equipment.
For your convenience, we repeat some useful links:
- WISEflow recommendations for the configuration of
the environment for the upcoming EQE: https://epo-wiseflow.ladesk.com/772936-Lockdown-computer-recommendations
- documentation on the examination system (user
guides, troubleshooting, etc) available on the dedicated WISEflow website.
Please be reminded that the currently available mock flows will remain open until 6 March 2022."
Wiseflow has been improved compared to the Pre-Exam 2021 version:
ReplyDeleteIn the Pre-Exam 2021 version, the question was presented on the screen in all three languagues followed by the statements in all three languages.
In the improved version. the screen is split into 2 columns.
The left column presents the question (legal) and claim set (claims part) in a single language, where the candidate can choose between the three languages (selection"Next Page" below the question).
The right column presents the four statements of the question in all three languages.
The left and right column can be scrolled independently.
Note: it is possible to annotate both columns, but when scrolling just the right column the annotation does not move with it (at the moment).
During the Mock today, I noted several improvements:
ReplyDeleteEvery question is now split into two columns:
The left column presents the question in a single language, which the candidate can choose (DE - EN - FR; selection"Next Page" below the question).
The right column presents the trilingual statements with True/False option.
I noted that, when the question itself is short as in the legal questions and the statements are long, scrolling down in the right column to the last statement sometimes makes the question move out of the left column as it moves upward. So, one may need to scroll back the total if one wants to see the question again.
If you accidentally hit Alt-Tab, you get a warning message that that is considered an unauthorized action, but you can continue. It also warns you that, if you do it again, a new message will appear and you will need the invigilator password to continue.
On the bottom right side of the screen, it gives a green/white circle that, when you expand it, indicates "Contact an invigilator". You can open a Chat with the invigilator. This, invigilation is now integrated and the former Zendesk is no longer needed. The new Chat-function worked very well when I tried it. It also shows the name of the invigilator when it is active.
In view of the sequence of questions and statements, it appears that questions and statements are (at least in the legal part) again presented in a randomized order within each part.
In the past, if you opened too many Tabs the system forced an exit of the flow. Now, if you try to open too many tabs (i.e., more than the number of Wiseflow Tabs that fit side-by-side on the width of your screen), you get a popup saying "Please close an existing tab before opening a new one".
The Overview indicates which questions you have answered eat least in part. Unfortunately you cannot see whether you have answered a question in full or in part (i.e., whether you have answered all 4 statements or only some of them) in the Overview (same as Pre-Exam 2021).
The options "Flag", "Notes" (maintained over the whole part of the paper), "Sticky notes" (for a specific question), and annotations (e.g., free-form underline, free-form lines - can be used in both columns) are very useful.
It is not clear to me what the purpose is of the menu item "Exclude response".
After you handed in your answers, you can see your answers in Wiseflow:
DeleteAfter you open the respective flow, you see an eye-symbol next to "My paper" under "1. Paper". It lets you see your answer in the same format as during the flow, one question at a time. If you want to print your answers, you need to print them one question at a time - you may need to set the scaling factor such that the whole width fits on your page; you may need to first print the top part of the statements, then scroll down, and then print the lower part of the statements.
Tip: in the menu, you find a symbol with a man in a circle, "Accessibility options", which includes a tab "Fontsize". Of you have a large screen (I have a 23" 1920x1080 screen), you may want to set the default font size to 75%, such that the total vertical space for all the statements is reduced. I also prefer the 75% size over the (rather large) 100% size.
ReplyDeleteTip: If you browse in the Statements column, hold your mouse/cursor above the statements and not on the True or False column, so that you prevent that you accidentally answer with T or F or accidentally change your answer. It happened to me that I appeared to have clicked on T or F while I was just browsing....
ReplyDeleteTip: do not forget to print the printable parts prior to starting the flows of the claims analysis part!
ReplyDeleteUnlike the pdf viewer in the main exam papers, the pdf viewer of the Pre-Exam Mock does not allow for annotation. But you can print the pdfs of the Pre-Exam (for the claims analysis parts: clients letter and prior art) prior to the exam, and annotate on your printed copy!
It appeared to me that while the Euro-PCT guide was accessible, the same was not true for the PCT Applicant's Guide. I am wondering whether that is indeed the case or whether I did not find the correct link. If it is the case, I guess we should print the PCT Applicant's Guide beforehand?
ReplyDeleteIt has been indicated that no access would be given to the PCT legal texts as they are not on the EPO domain. So, the PCT Applicant's Guide and the PCT Articles and Rules will not be available, nor any other page from https://www.wipo.int/pct/en/.
DeleteYou can find a compilation of a selection of the legal texts as in force on 31.10.2021 on our website at Training -> Course links (https://www.deltapatents.com/course-links.html), which shows under "EQE":
• EQE 2022 references - EQE
• EQE 2022 references - EPC (compilation legal texts)
• EQE 2022 references - EPC (GL/EPO)
• EQE 2022 references - EPO and PCT (compilation legal texts
• EQE 2022 references - EPO and PCT (GL/PCT-EPO)
• EQE 2022 references - PCT (WIPO)
I had to involve our company IT to get started.
ReplyDeleteIt appeared that I needed administrator privileges!
I was in doubt whether my camera and thus my photo was of good enough quality. I did not hear anything, so I assume it was OK. But it would have been nice with a "your photo is accepted" or something like that.
ReplyDeleteWas my photo checked? If not, will there be a change to check it well before the exam?
Really good to have experienced the platform already now: less pressure in getting to learn how the exam platform works, so that I can keep my focus on learning and knowing the material.
ReplyDeleteBe reminded that the Examination Board published a Notice dated 19 November 2021 which indicates that calendars will no longer be provided with the Pre-Exam papers at the EQE.
ReplyDeleteYou will need to take the EPO closure dates from the relevant OJ EPOs that you can consult via External Resources in Wiseflow.
You will also need to bring a list of dates of Saturday and Sundays, to be able to check whether a time limit extends acc. Rule 134(1) EPC or Rule 80.5 PCT.
The Notice of 19 November 2021 provides:
"Calendars are a necessary tool for calculating time limits, in particular where Rule 134(1) EPC, first sentence, applies. According to this provision, time limits expiring on a day on which at least one EPO filing office is not open for receipt of documents (closing day) are extended until the first day thereafter on which all the filing offices are open for receipt of documents and on which ordinary mail is delivered.
As of the 2022 examination, the practice concerning calendars will change: calendars will no longer be provided to candidates as part of the examination papers for the pre-examination and Paper D.
A notice listing the dates on which the EPO filing offices are closed is published each year in the Official Journal. For the purposes of applying Rule 134(1), first sentence, EPC and Rule 80.5 PCT, candidates should refer to the relevant notice on EPO closing days. They will be able to access the EPO website for this during the exam.
Candidates are allowed to use their own calendar to identify dates falling on a Saturday or Sunday.
This notice supersedes the notice from the Examination Board dated 18 July 2013 concerning the use of calendars."
Also refer to our blog post of FRIDAY, 12 NOVEMBER 2021, "Calendars for EQE 2022", in our general EQE blog:
http://eqe-deltapatents.blogspot.com/2021/11/calendars-for-eqe-2022.html
When will I receive a copy of my answers of my Pre-Examination 2022? Will I also receive a copy of the questions? Thanks.
ReplyDelete