Saturday, December 18, 2021

EQE 2022 - External References in WISEFlow and legal text versions

It was confirmed during the online EQE Tutor's Meeting in Oct 21 that access to www.epo.org will again be available during e-EQE 2022. Answers will again be accepted based upon texts accessible from www.epo.org which were valid on 31 Oct 2021, or valid on the day of the exam. 

It was also confirmed that NO DIGITAL COPIES of other references will be available, and NO ONLINE ACCESS to other websites will be available. You also CANNOT OPEN any documents on your computer during the exam. This may change in the future, but this currently has a low priority.

So, you will still need to print some references yourself before the exam. In particular, you will still need need PCT/WIPO references on paper, either by printing the official 2150 pages from the WIPO, or buying / printing our abbreviated and improved version: PCT Global Reference - Part (1) and (2).

No official calendars will be provided, so either print out the closure dates before the exam, or refer to the External References during the exam.

External References in WiseFlow

  • "External references" opens in a new tab to Home >Law & practice >Legal texts
  • Browser access to html and small pdf resources is limited to www.epo.org. 
  • Smaller pdf's, such as most OJEPO notices, can be opened. Large pdf resources, like Guidelines, cannot be opened. Each pdf opens in a new tab, and number of tabs is limited by screen size. No annotation or highlighting is possible - this is only available for exam pdf.
  • Browser shortcuts that work on my Win10: SHIFT+LEFT MOUSE (open in new tab), F5 (refresh - or use icon), ALT ← & ALT → (backward & forward - or use icon), SPACE or PAGE DOWN (scroll down), SHIFT+SPACE or PAGE UP (scroll up), HOME & END (top & bottom of page), jump to pdf bookmarks using toolbar icon, CTRL+SCROLL MOUSE (zoom - or use icon, or (i) options), CTRL+A, CTRL+C
  • Browser shortcuts that don't: CTRL+SHIFT+T, CTRL+T, CTRL+TAB (it just increases indents in your answer), RIGHT MOUSE (e.g. open in new tab), CTRL+E/F/K (no search function in html or pdf. Search is available for exam pdf only). CTRL+D, CTRL+P, CTRL+S.
  • Copy/paste is available into your answer, but that this DOES NOT get marks. Marks are available for APPLYING the law. Just copying in legal texts is no different to a  reference.
  • No browser bookmarks will be available or importable. There is no address bar, so urls are not visible and cannot be typed. Before the exam, get used to finding resources from the EPO home page, and practice using the html search. Note paths to critical references - these are pages that you often use in real life.
  • Test access during the mocks - some firewalls block access, so you may need to whitelist the whole www.epo.org domain. 

Key External References
Other External References (only in emergencies)
For details on official Guidelines versions, click READ MORE.

Accepted versions for e-EQE 2022

  • Answers for the Main and Pre-Exam will be accepted based on legal texts valid on 31 Oct 2021 - REE (OJ SE2, 2019) Art. 13(1)(c), Rule 2 (this is still the old REE). There was already an updated Instructions to Candidates - OJ 2021, A13).
  • Answers will again be accepted based upon texts accessible from www.epo.org which were valid on 31 Oct 2021, or valid on the day of the exam. Answers from obsolete references will not be accepted.
  • Officially, 1 Mar 2021 versions of EPO-EPC Guidelines and EPO-PCT Guidelines are expected
    • The 1 Mar 2022 versions will be legally in force and available digitally during e-EQE 2022, so answers based on 1 Mar 2022 will also be accepted. 
  • National Law tables are no longer available for printing. They are only needed very 2-3 years to answer questions. The last official version is from Oct 2019, so only use the html versions before and during the exam.
  • The 1 Jan 2021 version of Euro-PCT Guide may be used, but answers should be supported by EPC/PCT Articles, Rules, GL/EPO, GL/PCT-EPO Guidelines citations.
  • There are very few PCT updates in 2021, so the July 2020 versions of the Applicants Guide - International Phase and the Aug 20 version of the Applicants Guide - National Phase may be used. Answers should be supported by EPC/PCT Articles, Rules, GL/EPO, GL/PCT-EPO Guidelines citations.
  • Although useful for study, the other PCT resources are unlikely to be needed directly during the exam. The July 20 versions of the Administrative Instructions & Receiving Office Guidelines, and the 1 Jul 21 of the International Search and Examination Guidelines may be used, but answers should be supported by EPC/PCT Articles, Rules, GL/EPO, GL/PCT-EPO Guidelines citations.

General recommendations:
  • For EQE 2022, prepare using paper legal texts and documents valid on 31 Oct 2021. 
  • As a practicing (trainee) attorney, you should always be aware of the most up-to-date materials. If you use versions made available after 31 Oct 2021 to answer questions, you will not be penalised, but don't waste time doing this. There are no extra marks for the most up-to-date, or for giving both answers. 
  • Be pragmatic and don't just print out a lot of books or buy new ones. It is better to update older versions yourself by going through the changes in detail. The EPO provides some track changes versions and the WIPO usually uses change bars. Only transfer a lot of notes and annotations to a new version if you are using very old materials. Look through the most important EPO & EPO-PCT Guidelines changes in Feb 2022 - many of these changes will be based on Case Law, OJ EPO notices and practice changes that were already known in 2021, but missed the update one year earlier. 
  • If you do not use an "official version" during the exam, make a note once in each EQE exam of the Guidelines version you use. It is not required, but it makes it easier for the marker.

Rules of thumb:

  • Unless specified otherwise in the question, the date for answering the papers is the actual date of the exam (e.g. can we still file an appeal?)
  • Most of the legal principles being tested have been in force for many years
  • Recent legal changes are usually tested in-depth about 1 - 1.5 years after they enter into force. Recent G decisions are usually tested explicitly in-depth about 1 - 1.5 years after publication in the OJ EPO. A more superficial question is sometimes possible within a shorter period. The preparation time for Pre-Exam is shorter, so legal changes from about 1 year earlier may appear explicitly to be tested. Some changes are known well-in advance, like fees and PCT, so a shorter period may be possible.
  • If they expect something to be changed, they will usually avoid asking about it. For example, if there is a referral to Enlarged Board.
  • Ancillary Regulations: has no real value as an official reference any more - it was intended to be the most relevant OJ EPO's, but they stopped updating it. So many texts are obsolete, and many useful OJEPO's were not included. The true "Ancillary Regulations" are actually the OJ EPO's cited in the Guidelines and in your legal reference book. It makes more sense to collect OJEPO's texts yourself that you have needed during preparation to answer practice questions and/or old exam questions.
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