Indexed EPO-EPC Guidelines (1 Mar 21) now available to order

The EPO-EPC Guidelines for Examination (www.epo.org) covers EPO procedures during filing, search, examination, grant & opposition of EPC applications filed at EPO. Entry of PCT applications into the EP phase is also briefly covered.

This Indexed Version includes the complete official GL/EPO (EPO/EPC Guidelines), which are considered essential for exam candidates, and for professionals dealing with European patent applications in their daily life.

This version is valid from 1 Mar 2021 to 28 Feb 2022. It is the official version for EQE 2022 Main Exam & Pre-Exam. See this post for comments on which legal texts to use.

Note that answers at the EQE based on EPO-EPC Guidelines should be supported by EPC Articles, Rules, GL/EPO Guidelines (IPREE R.22) citations.

Our Indexed Version improves on the official version by:

• grouping the index entries at the front and abbreviating entries to allow quick scanning
• using page numbers to speed up getting to the correct page
• indicating sections with significant changes in the last 3 years
• including the complete official sources, and retaining the original paragraph structure and the underlining of the legal citations
• modifying the contents to fully use the page size, giving better overviews of paragraphs

New this year is the A4-format (210 x 297mm) created by Ignacio Lobato, which reduces the page count from 990 pages to 488. We now offer two versions, both with black and white contents:

1) Portable Edition - 16mm thick, using thinner 50gr "bible paper" to reduce the thickness to 26mm and the weight to 800gr.

2) Study Edition - using thicker 80gr paper, which is more suitable for intensive tabbing, annotating and highlighting. It is 26mm thick and weighs 1250 gr.

For more details, including the order links, and sample pages, see: fireballpatents.com/study-materials