Final version Guidelines AND potential EQE 2011 Exam topics

The provisional version of the Guidelines from December has now been finalized.
It is available here.

This should be the version that you will use for EQE 2011 – it is unlikely they will update it again this year.

The notice below gives the changes compared to the last finalized version of April 2009.
We have not yet identified any changes since the provisional version of December.

However, as the exam committee likes to ask questions on things that have changed, you can consider this list as an overview of potential exam topics.

Notice from the European Patent Office dated 1 April 2010 concerning amendment of the Guidelines for Examination in the European Patent Office

1. By decision of the President of the EPO dated 19 November 2009, the Guidelines for Examination have been amended pursuant to Article 10(2) EPC. The amendments are being published in the form of a complete "April 2010" edition of the Guidelines. These have been revised following consultation with the Standing Advisory Committee before the EPO (SACEPO). The amended Guidelines will apply as from 1 April 2010.
2. The updated Guidelines for Examination are published in all three EPO languages on the EPO website (www.epo.org/patents/law/legal-texts/guidelines.html) and are available for downloading free of charge. They will also be issued in paper form.
3. The English draft of these Guidelines was published on the EPO website in November 2009 in order to accommodate public interest in gaining the earliest possible access to information on the future amendments.
4. It should be noted that the "April 2010" edition of the Guidelines for Examination is the only valid official version, and supersedes the "April 2009" edition as from 1 April 2010.
Amendments to the Guidelines for Examination in the European Patent Office
5. Since the last complete new edition in December 2007, the Guidelines have been updated in view of the fee changes (see notice dated 1 April 2009, OJ EPO 2009, 336). As part of this update, Parts A - D of the "April 2009" edition were published in electronic form. Part E was not affected by these amendments.
6. The current amendments bring the Guidelines for Examination into line with the new or amended Rules 36, 57, 62a, 63, 64, 69, 70a, 135, 137 and 161 EPC, which enter into force on 1 April 2010 (see Administrative Council decisions CA/D 2/09 and CA/D 3/09 of 25 March 2009 amending the Implementing Regulations to the EPC, OJ EPO 2009, 296, 299, and the notices from the Office dated 20 August 2009, OJ EPO 2009, 481, and 15 October 2009, OJ EPO 2009, 533).
7. It should be noted that the Guidelines have not been fully revised. In one instance, where the Guidelines are still to be revised, several passages do not completely reflect current examination practice. Furthermore, once the work as regards content had been concluded, recent publications or decisions that appeared subsequently could no longer be taken into account. Thus, the relevant notice dated 14 September 2009 (OJ EPO 2009, 486), applies, for example, with respect to the filing of a certified copy of an earlier application to which reference is made, notwithstanding the relevant sections A-II, 4.1.3.1 and A-IV, 1.3.1 of the Guidelines.
8. Amendments to the new or amended rules can be found, in particular, in the following passages:

(a) Rule 36 (Divisional applications): A-III, 14; A-IV, 1 to 1.3.3; A-VIII, 1.3; C-III, 7.10, 7.11.1 and 7.11.4; C-VI, 1.1.4, 3.4, 5.2 and 9.1.3;

(b) Rule 62a (Applications containing a plurality of independent claims): B-III, 3.7, 3.10 and 3.11; B-IV, 2.1; B-VIII, 4 and 5; B-X, 3.1 and 8; B-XII, 7; C-III, 3.3; C-VI, 4.7, 5.2, 5.6 and 8.2;

(c) Rule 63 (Incomplete search): B-IV, 1.3; B-VIII, 3 and 5; C-II, 4.9; C-III, 4.1, 5 and 6.3; C-IV, 2.2 and 4.1; C-VI, 4.7, 5.2, 5.6 and 8.2;

(d) Rule 64 (European search report where the invention lacks unity): B-VII, 1.2;

(e) Rule 69 (Information about publication): A-VI, 2.1;

(f) Rule 70a (Response to the extended European search report): A-V, 2.1; A-VI, 2.1, 2.4, 2.5 and 3; B-XII, 1.2, 3.3, 3.9 and 9; C-III, 6.3, 7.10; C-IV, 2.2 and 4.1; C-VI, 1.1, 1.1.1, 3.2, 3.4 and 3.5; E-IX, 5.4 and 5.7;

(g) Rule 135 (Further processing): A-III, 14; A-IV, 1.1.1.5; E-VIII, 2.1;

(h) Rule 137 (Amendment of the European patent application): B-XII, 2, 2.2 and 9; C-VI, 2.1, 3.1 to 3.3, 3.5.1, 4.1, 4.7, 4.9, 5.2, 5.6, 5.7, 9.1.4 and 14.4;

(i) Rule 161 (Amendment of the application after entry into the European phase): A-VI, 2.4; A-VII, 7; C-III, 7.11; C-VI, 3.5.1 and 9.4; E-IX, 4a, 5.1 and 6.3.3.

9. Amendments were made to chapter C-IV, 11 concerning inventive step, in which the range of board of appeal decisions cited should be particularly noted.
10. Furthermore, the following sections of the Guidelines have been updated with regard to the following topics:
(a) Electronic filing of documents: A-II, 1.3, 3.1; A-IV, 1.3.1; A-IX, 3.2; E-IX, 2;
(b) Filing of priority documents: A-II, 5.4.3; A-III, 6.7; A-VII, 3.5; C-V, 3.3;
(c) Supplementary European search report: A-XI, 9.3.1; B-II, 4.3;
(d) Publications on the internet: B-III, 2.5; B-IV, 2.3; C-IV, 6.2; D-V, 3.1.3;
(e) Postponement of oral proceedings: E-III, 7.
11. A number of amendments were made in the light of decisions of the Enlarged Board of Appeal and the other boards of appeal: see C-III, 3.3, 4.2, 4.12, 4.16, 4.20 and 7.1; C-IV, 2.3.5, 4.1, 4.4, 4.8.1 and 5.4; C.VI, 5.2, 5.3.2 and 9.1.4; D-I, 4; D-V, 6.2; E-III, 7, 8.5 and 8.6; E-VI, 2 and E-X, 1.2.