e-EQE 2021 update - 14 Jan 21 - still some rough edges

Update 10 Feb 21: Ignacio Lobato Holtmann has created a Telegram group for fast exchange of eEQE questions, tips and info. He also proposes forming study groups for the next EQEs.

Mock2 was intended to test everything with a big load, so the flows will NOT be available later. 4 Feb & 5 Feb are the last chances to test YOUR system before the exam, so login as much as possible. If logging in late, use invigilator password is: xyz 

Updated 3 Feb 21: I have collected crash & restart issues here in a separate post
Updated 30 Jan 21 in purple. Updated 27 Jan in red. Updated: 19 Jan 21 in blue. 

On 14 Jan 21, 820 people followed an EPO/epi public webinar updating us on e-EQE. 75 tutors then followed a smaller session. Panelists answered questions supplied in advance, and also those submitted in the chat, including a lot of mine (thanks for that :-). 

Panelists: Xavier Seuba (EPO: Director Patent Academy and EQE),  Christoph Machwirth (EPO Head of EQE Secretariat), Simone Fausti (EPO Project Manager e-EQE), Tiem Reijns (epi Project Team e-EQE), Julia Gwilt (epi Chair of Professional Education Committee), Jens Horstmannshoff (EPO Project Team e-EQE). 

Thanks to the panelists for taking the time to do this. A good opportunity to discuss where we are, to find out what will remain as-is and what could be changed or improved. Most important - don't expect big changes in the interface, try the system out extensively, find a way to deal with features that you miss, and get your room & computer ready.

General points

• Official EQE docs with official requirements are available here. Also check FAQs. Read them in detail before testing and again before the exam.
• Surprising: only 30% of candidates have tried Mock1.  Not only to test the exam system, but also your own IT setup. All candidates have received mail from helpdesk@eqe.org about participating (check spam filters)
• Use this opportunity to try it. Do it this weekend. You don't need to complete all the exams, but you need to enroll in WISEflow, look at the interface and start the different flows (exams). You have never worked in this system before. Everything about it is different. Starting the LockDown browser will also check your hardware/software compatibility (all except camera). 
• Second email with participation passwords is from noreply@wiseflow.net. I did not get it for some reason, but I got from a candidate. They are the same for everybody. Send me an email or message if you want to know it.
• Passwords: one for WISEflow itself, a participation one for each flow and one for Zendesk. Invigilator password for each flow only provided if you start late, and only in very limited situations.
• I raised this as you lose access to emails when you are trying to start browser, and you have no phone. No guarantee of anything changing at this stage, but they agreed to look whether each candidate could use same password for the flows. Print them out and stick it to your monitor.
• Recording of public part of 1st webinar now available on EPO website
• There was a 2nd one on 28 Jan 21, and one more planned for 11 Feb 21. Submit questions to helpdesk@epo.org. If you sign up for new webinars, also submit questions during sign-up.
• epi has been heavily involved behind the scenes, including epi tutors making Mock2 exams. Specifically mentioned were efforts by Tiem Reijns & Katerina Hartvichova.
• Reference photo with ID must be registered before the exam using the dedicated flow in WISEflow. Max. 1 hr, so check that camera is working before starting

1. Location for exam

• No restriction on location. Not necessary to inform EPO of where you take it, or if you change location. With WISEflow, everything is stored online, so you can even change to a different computer. Flexibility built-in as impossible to tell what COVID restrictions will be in March.
• Flexibility in location seems to have dictated a lot of the other requirements, such as splitting the exam and no unscheduled breaks in PE and D1.
• Looking at the current lockdowns, this was a very wise idea
• Must be closed room. Must be alone and no-one can enter during exam. No-one can look in and see your screen (glass walls, panels or windows must be covered). Camera will monitor during exam, so area behind candidate should be neutral in color with no bright light sources such as windows. Also no pictures on wall behind you with faces. 
• My note: your face needs to be well lit, particularly if you have darker skin. 
• Only allowed electronic equipment in room specified in exam requirements - computer, monitor, camera, speaker, microphone. Either internal or external (wired) allowed. Printer & router also allowed in room. No other electronic devices permitted unless explicitly allowed by Examination Secretariat in advance. Food, drink and medicines allowed.
• Put a Quiet / Do Not Disturb sign on your door. You don't want calling you, knocking or trying to come in. Preferably lock the door from the inside.
• If relevant, reserve time before each exam to print. If relevant, reserve toilet.
• Ensure no noise in background, like music or TV, or smart speakers
• My note: a video scan of room can be required before each exam. Not mentioned (yet) in official EQE docs
• Advice from a lawyer was to perform your own scan just before you put your phone away before the exam starts. Preferably time stamped videos and/or pictures.

CLICK BELOW FOR MORE

2. Hardware

• Recommend: use wired connections for peripherals and network (no wifi or Blutooth)
• Phone may be used as backup network hotspot, but it must be preconfigured, registered on your computer, and outside the room during the exam. 
• Test this as well. Someone commented that it might not work automatically.
• Short internet interruptions in internet are handled by the system. If internet is down for a long time, it will be flagged in the system. You cannot leave the room to reset your router, for example. Router is allowed on your desk.
• Recommend: if possible only connect what you need - one camera, one speaker, one microphone. This avoids confusion about what is being used.
• No headphones or earphones or earplugs
• Printer: allowed in room or on desk. But cannot print after LockDown browser has started.
• Screen: can be any size, but only one. Recommend: plug in before starting LockDown browser as the resolution etc. is used to set up the browser views.
• I tried - if you change screens during exam, the scaling is completely off and you need to restart the browser.
• Use 27-inch or larger. A laptop/tablet screen is usually too small. Most modern TV's can also be used as a screen with a HDMI cable and you will have speakers. You just need to be able to place the webcam on top or underneath. But if you use external screen, you also need an external webcam.
• Doc holder can reduce tiredness due to looking up and down. Some are like a small sloped table, some are more vertical on the desk and some clip to the side of your monitor. You may have to move it if you have to scan your desk before the exam.
• Camera: no particular requirements - any webcam will work. But it must be in front of you whole exam, either above or below your screen and capture your whole face. Cannot use your phone. No more than 5cm away from screen.
• If you need to buy one, choose one suitable for EPO video conferencing (HD 720p or above). Some have a camera mount, so you can mount them anywhere. 
• Available with integrated microphone.
• My suggestion: have a long enough camera cable to look 360 degrees around room, desk area, monitor and under desk (no info yet if scan required during EQE)

3. Software

• Recommend: reboot computer before exam. Close all other windows and applications before starting.
• If doing it on an existing PC, I recommend making a new user account just for this exam. This separates it from your other programs, and the setup you do now will not be affected by installations by other users. 
• Recommend: have administrator whitelist LockDown browser, so that it can run with administrator privileges. This is solution used at EPO.
• I could not find a simple way to do this on Win10. But if you have the administrator password, you can enter it when the browser starts.
• Some technical support may be available during exam, but you avoid using it by testing as much as possible yourself. Contacting support will also waste exam time.
• Test audio and video before starting LockDown Browser (use options provided in operating system)
• turn off screensavers and power saving
• accept all cookies at WISEflow login
• Answers to some technical issues: Respondus Technical Support

4. Timing

• Recommend: log in to WISEFlow at least 1 hr before exam starts. This gives you time to sort things out if something is not working.
• In old days, a lot of people were present 1 hr before the exam. 
• You can theoretically use any computer to log-in, but you do not want to waste time setting everything up again and connecting it.
• Print everything before starting flows - no printing during exam
• Use the toilet.
• When flow is available, enter immediately
• Theoretically possible to start late due to exceptional circumstances, may still take exam, but need to supply evidence afterwards. You could still be disqualified afterwards.
• Even if allowed, you will be wasting time requesting invigilator password.
• At end of exam, you can download a copy of your answer.
• Splitting exams into parts done for security reasons, and to allow breaks. Splitting of A and B considered, but not feasible for these exams. Extra time given to compensate for not being able to freely divide exam time.
• No additional time given for A and B. Exam committees are aware of limitations, and are taking it into account. They are convinced that the digital advantages (typing/searching/copying etc) outweigh any disadvantages. This applies to the group of candidates as a whole, and not to each individuals - if you are a slow typist, you can improve with a few days with daily exercises. 
• No unscheduled breaks to leave the room during PE parts (4x 70 mins) and D1 parts (2x 90 mins). This to be sure that you have no contact with others to discuss the exam. If you leave room, you must first hand in your exam.
• I think most people can deal with this. You can choose the location so that you can go to the toilet just before the exam.
• cannot leave room or move out of camera view within first 30 mins of exam, even if you hand-in paper early
• During D2, A, B and C parts, you may leave the room to take short unscheduled breaks. Only possible after 30 mins passed from official exam start time. Inform invigilator via chat function:  “I take an unscheduled break” and “I’m back from the unscheduled break”
• may not take any material or docs from desk during unscheduled break
• cannot leave room or move out of camera view within first 30 mins of exam, even if you hand-in paper early

5. Invigilation

• Updated 3 Feb 21: I have collected crash & restart issues here in a separate post
• Test audio and video before starting LockDown Browser (use options provided in operating system). Audio verification required before you can access the flow.
• Entry picture (Reference) made of your face and ID - this must be in front of a neutral background. Recommended is to use exam setup with same camera perspective and background.
• Reference photo with ID must be registered before the exam using the dedicated flow in WISEflow. Max. 1 hr, so check that camera is working before starting
• Face, including ears, must be visible to camera during exam. Don’t wear baseball caps or hats with brims, or hoodies that cover your ears.
• Images, sound will be processed by AI, and flagged to human invigilator. AI does not take decisions.
• Cannot leave room or move out of camera view within first 30 mins of exam
• From Reddit: not a problem if you move out of range briefly, or turn your head briefly. The system will warn you that it can no longer detect you properly. If you then return, you can just carry on. All the "incidents" are stored and may be reviewed later by a real person to see if something strange was happening. If it takes too long, or strange sounds are detected (the system is supposed to cope with external background noises like cars honking, dogs barking etc), a real person will speak with you to see what is going on (that is why you need speakers)
• Likely: no standing up, wandering around, or speaking out loud
• Gaze is tracked, so AI system may also generate an event if you are not looking at the screen or you desk repeatedly or for a long time. Don’t wear sunglasses.
• eyewear allowed but only for correcting or aiding vision
• A video scan of room can be required before each exam - no info (yet) if EQE will require
• I have asked helpdesk to clarify. But suggest you have a long enough camera cable to look 360 degrees around room, desk area, monitor and under desk.
• Likely but not yet confirmed: no bags or backpacks under desks, no bags or pencil cases on desk
• If something strange happens that is likely detected, type a note in the invigilator chat window explaining (or speak to the camera so that it is recorded. 
• one site also recommended sending a report after the exam with more explanation

6. Paper C

• Part 1 will comprise the application and (most or all) the prior art, and some claims. So the first part should be spent reading the claims, application, prior art and attacking the claims. 
• Part 2 will be a different invention from same application, possibly with 1 extra prior art.
• Exam committee will decide how marks are awarded per part
• This is actually an advantage to candidates - they have the flexibility to reduce the weighting for parts done badly or not at all by most candidates. But you have to try and finish each part - don't get stuck one one attack. So in Part 1, attack all the claims at least once and do all novelty attacks. Don't run out of time doing a 3rd inventive step attack on claim 1.
• In the break, you will need to print again for Part 2. All printable docs will be available (including those from part 1). Cannot go back to Part 1 during Part 2.

7. LockDown Browser

• Highlighting of assignment not available (except in D1). It cannot be implemented before exam. They mentioned that committees have taken the limitations into account, but would not give any details as it concerns the contents of the exams. 
• I know most of the panelists - based on changes made before considered "impossible" (True/False for Pre-Exam, combining AB technologies, etc), you can trust that they have seriously adapted the exams to take into account. 
• Speculating, they could reduce the non-printable pages. Paper A & B often have sections where the client/application explains prior art, background, basic principles, terminology - this could be moved to prior art pages. For the Mock 1 papers that would reduce the non-printable parts by about 2 pages in each. Mock2 will be closer to the expected exam format, so we should be able to see a difference with Mock1.
• Speculating, they could also sort the information better, so that you dont have to jump around in the story (A, DII). They could annotate the drawings, or include a reference number list with the drawings. They could similarly improve presentation of the information in B. They could shorten the paragraphs, use more bullet styles, to make it easier to read on the screen. 
• I hope the changes are visible in Mock2, but they will be mostly modified older papers. 
• But it makes it hard to practice as you have no idea what to expect. I can only suggest looking at the things you will definitely have (making notes on paper, copying into your answer) and reduce your reliance on highlighting. 
• If you are using a lot of highlighting on paper, think about whether it really helps you. It is sometimes just a habit. If you are using multiple colors, you are probably wasting time deciding which color to use. When reading an exam, you do not always know what is important to highlight and what not. Is there an alternative way to briefly note things on paper?
• One option available is to copy parts into your answer and apply formatting there
• Use CTRL-SHIFT-V to paste without html formatting
• I would try to avoid this - you think you are growing your answer, but there are no marks for just including exam pieces - the marks are for the context given to the pieces. 
• You can still refer to paragraphs of the exam: for example, <include [0020] here unamended> to keep your answer short. 
• Think critically about why you are doing it. Be aware of how much time this costs, and the difficulty you will have with an extra long answer. Do it mainly for parts you will need in your answer. 
• I would also avoid too much formatting, like italics, colors, automatically numbered lists, different indents. Keep it simple - the statements must be clear, and the context clear, so headings can be useful and save time as everything underneath it is related to that heading.
• Bugs that cannot be fixed before the exam:
• Opening more than 10 tabs will crash the browser and require exam restart - don't do it.
• If you select wrong language (EN/FR/DE) when opening preview or separate tab, you cannot change it. It is possible to refresh browser, but you will have to start exam again!
• They are aware of the copy/paste problems when copying parts of the exam into the answer. They are trying to improve, but there is no guarantees that this can be fixed before the exam.

8. Other points

• Test your system with Mock1 as soon as possible. Preferably, you want to have a fixed setup that you can also use for Mock2 and in the days before the exam.
• Most people will not have a separate computer for the exam, but reserve time at least a week before the exam to set everything up and make sure it all works. You need to be self-reliant in preparing the necessary hardware and software.
• Mock2: will use new exams or adapted old one (prepared by epi)
• Candidates will get invitation for Mock2. Tutors can still get access to Mock1.
• From epi.org: "Tutors who want access to Mock 2 have to register before next Wednesday, 20 Jan 21. All tutors who already have access to Mock 1, will automatically get access to Mock 2. They do not need to apply again. Send your first name, family name, email address to sadia.liebig@patentepi.org
• Calendars for PE and D will be made available, possibly before the exam.
• "External resources" button within browser currently only links to the EPO eEQE FAQ. This is only for mocks. They are looking at providing some legal references, but this cannot be guaranteed. And if they are provided, they will not be searchable. They will announce in advance if any documents will be available, and which ones..
• They are looking at the legal documents specified in REE, like Guidelines, EPC, National Law etc. I requested that they also include the WIPO official printable Applicants Guide.

9. Medical exemption

• This was not discussed, but in general for the EQE, if you have a medical condition that may conflict with any of the requirements, you should let the EQE secretariat know with a doctors letter. 
• They are pretty strict about what they will accept, but there may be new issues that you hadn't thought of. For example, if you need to have a medical device on your desk, if you will not be able to remain seated in front of the camera, if you cannot remain in the room for 90 minutes, if you have to wear something on your face, if you use hearing aids etc.  Have the doctors letter with you during the exam.

10. Future plans

• I asked them about how this will develop in the future. The only comment was that they plan to stay digital - they do not see us going back to paper. COVID only accelerated the change that was being planned. 
• I think on balance the change will be positive. It is a huge challenge this year, but eEQE will open up opportunities for new, flexible, testing regimes in the future.