Sunday, February 23, 2020

Possible questions on "recent" legal changes - EQE 2020

The law being tested at EQE 2020 is theoretically the status on 31 Oct 2019. Unless specified otherwise, "today" on the exam is the actual day of the exam (16 or 17 Mar 2020), so the law of 31 Oct 2019 should be applied to these situations. In particular, fee amounts valid on this date should be used when specifically required to answer a question.

Make sure your legal references are up-to-date and you are aware of recent changes. See here for my overview of recent relevant EPC changes and PCT changes. I have also included my comments about whether a question is likely or not - I have no insider knowledge, it is based on experience with previous exams.

I have limited the list to 2018 & 2019 - anything before 2018 will be included in your legal references.  There is usually one DI question (or an aspect of DII), and at least one Pre-exam Legal Question, directed to a "new" subject or a "recent" legal change. As each exam takes up to 2 years to make, these may not seem new or recent to you. For example, in DII 2019, G1/15 was tested for the first time.  The decision by the Enlarged Board in that case was taken on 29 Nov 16, and it was published in the OJ EPO in Sep 2017.

The EPO-PCT Guidelines were added to the official list of EQE texts about 2 years ago. Although most of the contents are found in other references, like the Euro-PCT Guide or the Applicants Guide IP, the Examination Committee prefers the EPO-PCT Guidelines to be cited. DI 2019 was the first exam where a reference (or an equivalent) was expected for full points.
 Subjects that could be asked include:
-- PPH (Patent Prosecution Highway) - E-III, 1 - 3
-- PCT-Direct - A-IV, 1 and B-IV, 1.2

So, familiarise yourself with the changes from 2018 and 2019, and the contents of the EPO-PCT Guidelines. I also make an indexed version - it can be ordered as part of my EPO as a PCT Authority book.

Good luck!

1 comment:

  1. I am becoming more and more worried that the EQE 2020 will be postponed due to Corona Virus! :-(

    ReplyDelete