Pre-Exam 2018: our answers to the claims analysis questions
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Pre-Exam 2018: our answers to the legal part
As in the last two years, the legal questions were a mix of questions addressing standard topics, e.g. time limits, prior art, amendments, opposition, translations, EP-entry, and questions addressing topics that candidates are less familiar with such as late-filed claims, late-filed missing drawings, oral proceedings and interlocutory revision. Also, a question testing whether a patent gives the unconditional right to produce and/or sell or not was again part of the pre-exam.
Well-prepared candidates having good knowledge of the EPC and PCT and knowing their material well (reference books, Guidelines, PCT Applicants' Guide, Euro-PCT Guide) for fast look-up should have been able to answer most of the statements correctly, provided they had their material updated to the legal status of 31 October 2017.
I expect that, as the previous two years, many candidates needed 1,5-2 hours for the legal part and the full 4 hours for the whole paper.
Our answers for the legal questions of the Pre-Exam 2018 (paper available here: English, French, and German):
Well-prepared candidates having good knowledge of the EPC and PCT and knowing their material well (reference books, Guidelines, PCT Applicants' Guide, Euro-PCT Guide) for fast look-up should have been able to answer most of the statements correctly, provided they had their material updated to the legal status of 31 October 2017.
I expect that, as the previous two years, many candidates needed 1,5-2 hours for the legal part and the full 4 hours for the whole paper.
Our answers for the legal questions of the Pre-Exam 2018 (paper available here: English, French, and German):
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Calendars for Pre-Exam 2018 available on EPO website
The calendars for the 2018 Pre-Examination have been made available by the Exam Secretariat on the Pre-Exam Compendium pages of the EPO website. Calendars are provided of 2017 and 2018. The format of the calendars and the table with EPO closure dates has remained unchanged.
The calendars can be found here.
The calendars can be found here.
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Guidelines November 2017
A pre-publication of Guidelines for Examination November 2017 is available on the EPO website, as well as of the Guidelines for Examination at EPO as PCT authority.
The HTML-pages also contain a page with a list of changes (at the bottom of the left column)
The final version, available as of 1 November 2017, is however not the relevant version for EQE 2018 (Pre-Exam and Main Exam): per decision of the Supervisory Board of 29 September 2017, the relevant date for the applicable law and GL was changed from 31 December to 31 October (see here), such that the November 2016 version is the relevant version for EQE. Note that that version is partially overruled by legal changes (RFees 11, Rule 51(2), Rule 162, Rule 27, Rule 28 EPC) and case law (G 1/15 - partial priority).
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Requirement to register start of professional activities
For sitting the main exam, it is required that a candidate:
The Supervisory Board,
Having regard to the Regulation on the European qualifying examination for professional representatives (REE) which entered into force on 1 January 2009 (Supplementary publication 2, OJ EPO 2014), in particular Article 3, paragraph 7, thereof, has decided as follows:
Article 1
Rule 28 of the Implementing provision to the Regulation on the European qualifying examination for professional representatives shall be replaced by the following text:
(1) In accordance with Article 11(1) REE, candidates intending to enrol for the
European qualifying examination for the first time shall register once they have
commenced their professional activities or employment as defined in
Article 11(2) REE.
(a) satisfies the Secretariat that at the date of the examination (or rather, 1 March) the candidate has:
(i) completed a full-time training period of at least three years in one of the contracting states to the European Patent Convention (hereinafter "the EPC") under the supervision of one or more persons European patent attorneys (for exact formulation, see Art.11(2)(a)(i) REE), or
(ii) worked full-time for a period of at least three years in the employment of a natural or legal person in an EPC contracting state and have represented their employer before the EPO in accordance with Article 133(3) EPC (Art.11(2)(a)(ii) REE)), or
(b) performed full-time the duties of an examiner at the EPO for at least four years (Art.11(2)(b) REE).
For the pre-exam, these periods are reduced by one year.
On 1 April 2016, a revised version of Rule 28 IPREE entered into force, which requires candidates intending to enrol for the European qualifying examination for the first time to register once they have commenced their professional activities or employment.
The registration has to be done within 2 month after having commenced professional activities or employment. However, a transitional provision applies that the registration can be performed at any time during a transitional period that runs at least until 1 April 2017.
Candidates enrolling for the EQE for the first time in 2017 do not need prior registration.
Candidates enrolling for the EQE for the first time in 2018 or later are advised to register before the end of the transitional period, as otherwise only 2 months of the training period before registration will be taken into account.
The full text of the decision is given below:
Decision of the Supervisory Board The Supervisory Board,
Having regard to the Regulation on the European qualifying examination for professional representatives (REE) which entered into force on 1 January 2009 (Supplementary publication 2, OJ EPO 2014), in particular Article 3, paragraph 7, thereof, has decided as follows:
Article 1
Rule 28 of the Implementing provision to the Regulation on the European qualifying examination for professional representatives shall be replaced by the following text:
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of Rule 7 and subject to paragraph 4, the fee for
registration for candidates already registered with the Institute as an “epi student”
shall amount to 50% of the basic fee.
(3) For the purposes of Article 11(2) REE, only such periods of professional activity
shall be taken into account as have been accumulated after registration pursuant to
paragraph 1 above. The maximum period of previous professional activity as defined
in Article 11(2) REE which can be taken into account is limited to two months on
condition that such period occurred immediately before registration.
(4) During a transitional period of at least one year from the entry into force of this
rule, the registration can be requested at any time. Candidates may request any
previous period of professional activity as defined in Article 11(2) REE to be taken
into account without the limitation specified under paragraph 3. Registration is free of
charge during the transitional period. The transitional period may be extended by
decision of the Supervisory Board. For candidates enrolling for the 2017 European
qualifying examination, no prior registration is necessary.
Article 2
This decision shall enter into force on 1 April 2016.
Done at Munich, 23 March 2016
For the Supervisory Board
The Chairman
Chris Mercer
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Added 4 January 2017:
A further Notice was published in OJ 2016, A108: "Notice of the Examination Secretariat of the European qualifying examination - Registration pursuant to Rule 28 of the Implementing provisions to the Regulation on the European qualifying examination"
The Notice provides many details as the the registration requirements and procedure.
The Notice indicates that the transitional period has NOT been extended by the Supervisory Board, as the Notice says: "During the transitional period until 31 March 2017 candidates may request any previous period of professional activity as defined in Article 11(2) REE to be taken into account without any limitation as to time."
Article 2
This decision shall enter into force on 1 April 2016.
Done at Munich, 23 March 2016
For the Supervisory Board
The Chairman
Chris Mercer
----------
Added 4 January 2017:
A further Notice was published in OJ 2016, A108: "Notice of the Examination Secretariat of the European qualifying examination - Registration pursuant to Rule 28 of the Implementing provisions to the Regulation on the European qualifying examination"
The Notice provides many details as the the registration requirements and procedure.
The Notice indicates that the transitional period has NOT been extended by the Supervisory Board, as the Notice says: "During the transitional period until 31 March 2017 candidates may request any previous period of professional activity as defined in Article 11(2) REE to be taken into account without any limitation as to time."
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