EQE: 7 Mar 2023 - D Exam - copy to try yourself and my comments

See here: blog.ipappify.de/eqe-7-mar-2023-d-exam-copy-to-try-yourself/

Still struggling with PCT ?

Welcome to PCT.App !

• By IP.appify : www.pctapp.net/en/pct-app
• The only self-editable guide to PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty).
• Readable on your mobile phone & tablet. It is extensively commented, with many summaries of key issues. The screenshot above is simulated - "See Inside" for examples of actual screenshots.
• Search full-text, and navigate with hyperlinks & cross-references to internal & external resources.
• Organisation is chronological, mirroring the lives of PCT applications. 130 subjects include overviews and paragraphs from the most relevant provisions. All PCT Articles & Rules are included at least once.
• Self-editable online using a browser. Freely adapt the references online with your own comments & highlighting, and hide any unwanted parts. For editing & modifying content, we recommend using a larger screen with a mouse & keyboard.
• No need to transfer notes - legal updates are automatic without disturbing your individual content.
• Make printable colour pdf's at any time, or use our Print-On-Demand service for color hardcopies.
• Crucial for daily practice, essential for the EQE (Qualifying Exam for European Patent Attorneys).
• Also available as a fully-commented black-and-white paper book. Editing and colour hardcopies are only available to online subscribers.

To Do in 2022:

• Subscribe to PCT.App, the most advanced and comprehensive guide to PCT law & procedure.
• For lawyers, patent attorneys and formalities officers.
• Available in English and German.
• By IP.appify : www.pctapp.net/en/pct-app
• "See Inside" for actual PC and mobile phone screenshots, explanation of the structure, sample downloads, the Index and the Detailed Contents lists

Reviews & Recommendations:

- Nominee - IPKat Book of 2021 / Yellow Sheet (Nov 21) / Salted Patent (Apr 21)

• EPC.app and PCT.app helped me a lot in EQE Paper D - I did not even need to annotate it
• Pete's PCT.APP book saved me on EQE Paper D1
• I found it to be very good for EQE D exam. The plain language and keyword index made it work for me
• Being able to edit the contents to how I see fit was a surprisingly easy experience
• Organising PCT.App by subject in the order that an application would go through PCT gives an intuition that I haven’t found in other materials
• How convenient to have Till & Pete update your go-to EPC & PCT so they are always up to date
• Can´t recommend enough for EQE candidates as well as anyone in the profession
• I always had the material, with my own annotations, available online and as a printed book

© IP.appify GmbH

e-EQE: 8 Mar 2022 - D Exam - copy to try yourself

Updated 15 Mar 22: to add blurry preview window problem.
Updated 14 Mar 22: possible remedy for frozen chat window added.
Updated 10 Mar 22: clarified that you cannot print after starting the Browser, added problem with missing words. Update 9 Mar 22: added note about Refresh. Also added a note about a backup system. Added additional problem. Yesterday was the e-EQE D Exam (D1-1: 0930-1100 CET - 90 mins, D1-2: 1130-1240 CET - 70 mins, D2: 1325-1645 CET - 200 mins). If you want to try yourself, see here for three files in English: D1-1 (2022), D1-2 (2022) and D2 (2022). The text was extracted from my answers (sorry, no French or German). The EPO normally makes official copies available in the compendium in the week after the EQE.

• I am reasonably confident about the D1 questions in these copies being complete. For D2, I am not so sure - some paragraph numbers were not copied due to the copy/paste issues, and I had some odd words that I had to put back in. 
• See below for some of my comments. I have not discussed the content of the exam, and avoided any spoilers, but feel free to leave comments here or in the Telegram groups.
• I made the exam at the same time as candidates as a bench marker. The Examination Committees have 5 external people per exam, and the answers are used for Committee discussions. They do not directly influence the marking, but allow group discussions on what should and should not be awarded marks. 
• If you had any issues with the exam, report them as soon as possible to helpdesk@eqe.org. Formally, complaints must be filed no later than midnight on the day of the exam you are complaining about. I have helped update Preston Richard's template for EQE complaints to make the process a little easier, especially after a tiring day. Even if you have miss the formal deadline, submit all complaints that could affect your marking or performance as quickly as possible.

1. Telegram chat groups

• Join the EQE Telegram groups to discuss issues with other candidates: Main group (306 members), Study group (128 members), ABC&PE-claims (188 members), D&PE-legal (152 members) and Marketplace (69 members). The groups are public, and open to any tutors or candidates. A few rules: treat others with respect, no discussion of cheating, no exchange of large sections of copyrighted materials (use of excerpts for study and discussion allowed). During scheduled exams, no discussion of the exam questions or answers. During mocks, no restrictions.

2. WISEflow, before the exam, after the exam

• It is now strongly recommended to log-on to WISEflow at least 60 minutes before the start of the first part of each exam. This gives you a chance to see if everything is working. After clicking on the correct exam flow, you enter the flow page. 
• Early camera check: It is possible to start the FLOWlock/LockDown Browser in the flow page up to 60 minutes before the exam to test your camera and microphone by performing the ID check. 
• If you do not need to print, you can just stay in the Browser, waiting for the exam to start. 
• If you need to print using that computer, you must exit the Browser, restart your internet browser, log back in to WISEflow, and enter the flow page again. You will also need to perform the ID check again. 
• It is also possible to print using a second computer logged into WISEflow, but this second computer must be turned off and out of reach during the exam.
• Print BEFORE starting the FLOWlock Browser: 10 minutes before the start of the exam, any printable documents will appear on the flow page. Click on the refresh icon (clockwise arrow) or press F5 to see them. 
• All copies of my own answers were available 45 mins after the scheduled end of the last part (D2).
• Last year, there were some problems last year with missing pages in the pdf's, so check them to see if they look complete and report any problems. It was a pdf conversion issue, and the complete answers were correctly submitted and could be easily be reconverted. I have not heard of any similar issues this year. This year, one person in A had the first letters of each paragraph missing and some words in between were also missing.

3. FLOWlock / LockDown Browser

• Thankfully, I did not have any major problems, but others did (see below). For one of the ID checks, it would not use my external camera (it had only selected the laptop inetrnal webcam, and it could not be selected. I solved it by exiting the browser (there is a hamburger button at the top right with an Exit Browser option.
• Assignment buffering: I did notice that after opening the assignment (exam) in a tab, it sometimes took a few seconds to appear. Once it seemed frozen, so I closed the tab and re-opened it. Others reported it as being up to a minute delay. 
• Browser updates: it is now expected that you verify the software at least once in the morning BEFORE each exam. You should be using the latest version of FLOWlock / LockDown Browser
• To verify: after logging-in to WISEflow, click on the drop down menu next to your name and select "Edit profile" and "Test Browser". This will start the FLOWlock / LockDown Browser, and check that it is up to date. 
• Several people did report Browser stability problems after updating - everything was fine during their mock exams in February.
• Browser crashes: many people had this issue. After successfully starting, the Browser spontaneously vanished, with just the desktop backdrop being visible. This issue was seen by some during the mocks. It is unclear what the cause is.
• if an internet browser can be opened, you can restart WISEflow.
• if no options are available, you may need to to reboot your computer, and then restart WISEflow.
• Another Browser crash reported after successful mocks: "My WebCam worked well during mock exams in Feb, but it has been disconnected when I tested it on Monday and the Lockdown browser crashed in my windows-laptop.. don't know why... I tried to test my WebCam again today without using USB-Hub but directly via the USB port of the laptop. It seems to work well. Wish it also works tomorrow. I also have a Mac for backup (also extra WebCam, Cable, Keyboard, Mouse for backup). I feel that Mac seems to be more stable than windows-laptop for the Lockdown browser system - only personal feeling ;-"
• Prepare a backup system: I just heard about someone who had no problems during the mocks, but could not get into any parts of the D exam yesterday because the Browser would not recognise the laptop internal camera (a personal laptop with no external cameras connected). What a disaster - a year of preparation flushed away by WISEflow. If you have had crashes, or you are worried, prepare a backup system and have it in your room, turned off and out of reach:
• Borrow a computer to which you can have full administrator privileges. The recommended technical specs are very low. Or ask your IT department if they have an old one that they can reset and give you administrator privileges.  
• You will have the least chance of technical issues if you use a dedicated desktop with one screen (at least 27 inch), one camera, one microphone, one keyboard, one mouse, one loudspeaker device, one printer, direct wired (USB/HDMI) connections to all peripherals, administrator access, cabled (LAN) access. The chances of problems are even more reduced by connecting to a non-company network.
• Chat window frozen: one person many people found after logging in after a crash that chat window remained open in the 'Calling representative' mode. There was no way to stop it, move it, or to contact an invigilator. This meant that it was not possible to request an unscheduled break, for example, or to report any other issues. 
• helpdesk suggested refreshing - the refresh icon is the "clockwise arrow" at the top left between X and (i). F5 should also work (at least in Windows).
• if it still does not work, continue working on your exam. If you need to contact the helpdesk, call +49 89 2399 5155 (helpdesk number with very limited capacity).
• Can't find Refresh: Refresh will solve a lot of problems. The refresh icon is the "clockwise arrow" at the top left between X and (i). F5 should also work (at least in Windows).
  
• Blurry assignment preview: many candidates have reported this problem. The assignment preview window is the only possibility in FLOWlock to allow side-by-side comparison, so the blurriness makes this unusable. The official guidance received from the helpdesk, both during the mocks and during exams, is to not use the preview window, or that it was due to the individual system.
• a solution reported in the Telegram groups was to adjust the text zoom ratio in WINDOWS/ Display Settings to 125% before starting the FLOWlock Browser. 
• Note that this WINDOWS setting cannot be set or reset during the exam. 
• The zoom level of the FLOWlock Browser and all the tabs can be set during the exam using the selection menu which appears when the (i) icon in the top left is clicked.
• It is also possible to separately change the zoom level of an assignment tab using CTRL+SCROLL MOUSE, or the (-) and (+) buttons in the assignment tab toolbar. Zoom settings can also be set directly by clicking on the arrow next to the percentage in the assignment tab toolbar.
• It is only possible to separately change the zoom level of the answer tab using CTRL+SCROLL MOUSE.

CLICK BELOW FOR MORE ABOUT D EXAM (no spoilers)

e-EQE: 8 Mar 2022 - D Exam - good luck!

Final preparations

Updated 11 Mar 22: added entry photo requirements
Updated 10 Mar 22: clarify printing must be done before starting FLOWlock Browser. 

• This is a detailed exam schedule for D 2022, indicating scheduled and unscheduled break times. 
• If you are planning to annotate digitally, be prepared to deal with limitations in the software.
• Don't forget your calendars
• External Resources at www.epo.org are available online during the exam. For all other materials, such as the PCT Applicant's Guide, you will need to have them on paper.
• Be prepared to contact the invigilators by chat widget, and be prepared to deal with FLOWlock Browser crashes. Only in emergencies and if the chat widget is not available, call the epo helpdesk: +49 89 2399 5155. Telephone lines are very limited - the chat widget is strongly recommended. Communication via email will not be dealt with.
• Last year, candidates received an e-mail with a hyperlink just before the exam. This year, no email will be sent - the flows will made available well before each of your exams, so you will see them after logging into WISEflow.
• Get everything ready early so you can relax. It is recommended to log-in 60 minutes before the start of the first flow. This will also give enough time to make sure that the room requirements are complied with, and to create your own evidence.
• Print BEFORE starting the FLOWlock Browser: 10 minutes before the start of the exam, any printable documents will appear on the flow page. Click on the refresh icon (clockwise arrow) or press F5 to see them. 
• It is also possible to print using a second computer logged into WISEflow, but this second computer must be turned off and out of reach during the exam.

During the exam

• Have a valid official photo ID (identity card or passport) ready and keep it within easy reach during the whole exam. You MUST verify your identity at the start of EACH FLOW by holding your ID next to your face for the entry photo. See Instructions to Candidates ITC IV, 6.
• During the exam, you must to stay in front of the camera - everything you want to use must be within arms reach. 
• Don't lose track of time ⏰ during the scheduled lunch break - if you are more than 10 minutes late, you may need the invigilator password to start the flow
• During scheduled exam times and scheduled breaks, don't go online discussing the exam or share confidential exam info, such as personal login details & invigilator passwords. Wait until the scheduled end of the last part of each exam - after that, you can freely discuss. But remember - no-one knows the expected answers, how the marks will be awarded, and which alternatives will be accepted.

Type-in the most complete answer possible within the time given

• More than one answer is frequently accepted. This is decided after the exam based upon the actual answers provided. 
• You can still fail if you are on the right track but don't hand in enough to be marked properly. Don't spend too much time analysing and thinking - hand-in as much as answer as possible, even if you are not sure if it is "correct".
• Concentrate on completing the parts of the answer as soon as possible which are awarded the most marks (the examiners reports include a marking table). 
• If you are working digitally, it is fine to have a "notes" or "analysis" section in your answer, and to hand-it in. Help your marker by clearly distinguishing between "notes"/"analysis" and your answer to the exam.

Good luck!

• I will also be doing the D exam at the same time as a "bench marker". This is a misleading name - my performance does not affect the scoring. 
• The committees use exams from 5 tutors to discuss where to award marks, and whether alternative solutions are awarded marks. I am trying to get around 50 marks, so, I will sometimes stop working on a question early, or be imprecise with legal basis to be closer to a real answer. And like most tutors, I will have some D1 questions (partially) wrong and miss several key issues in D2 anyway.

e-EQE 2022: Take Simple Calendars on Paper to Exam

I was not planning to post this so close to the exam, but I have been getting a lot of questions about Calendars. You only need to know the EPO closing days, but you need the weekends on paper. I have also made some calendars you can use - as pdf (in English) or as Excel (so you can edit yourself or change language). Also includes comments on calculating time limits and when closing day extensions are to be used.

Time limits at the e-EQE (Main Exam and Pre-Exam)

• Calendars are no longer provided because the EPO closing days are available online during the exam. But there is no change compared to previous exams how questions are asked where time limits need to be calculated. You are only expected to know the EPO closing days based on the relevant OJEPO notices (usually once or twice per year). This was confirmed in the EQE info session of 8 Feb 2022. 
• For EQE 2022, you need to know the weekends and closing days for EPO offices in 2020, 2021 and 2022. The relevant OJEPO's are: 2020 in OJ 2020, A56 (22 May 20) and OJ 2019, A97; 2021 in OJ 2021, A4; 2022 in OJ 2021, A85. Although these OJEPO's are available online, there is no digital calendar to figure out weekends, and you cannot use one on your computer (or phone) during the exam. So, you need them on paper.
• Each national office and the IB have their own closing days - you are NOT EXPECTED to know these during the EQE, but you can assume that these offices are also closed in the weekend. If it is critical to answer a question, they will give you the details in the question. 
• If they expect you to take into account a disruption, like COVID or a hurricane, they will give you all the facts that you need. They want to test whether you know the relevant law and know how to apply the law to those facts - they are not interesting in testing whether you can find such facts.
• It is useful to have examples of such a disruptions as an overview of possible EPC and PCT remedies. For example, OJ 2020, A120 describes remedies when electronic communication is not available. For example, OJ 2020, A123 describes remedies when a disruption, such as COVID, occurs.

Avoid calculation mistakes

• Every year, candidates lose many marks because of avoidable mistakes in time limit calculations. A wrong calculation can lead to missed marks or lead to time being wasted on irrelevant details. 
• Under the stress of the exam, don't rely on your fingers or in your head - count the days/months on the Calendar. Always double check any critical calculations. Common mistakes include: 
• converting the written form of months in questions to the wrong month number. Mistakes are often made with June, July and August, for example (months 6, 7 and 8).
• assuming that every month has days 29, 30 and 31 (even February). If the "last day of the period" ends on a day that does not exist, it is shifted to the real last day of that month - R. 131(4) EPC and R. 80. 1 PCT.
• using the calendar for the wrong year (for example, 2020 instead of 2022).
• ending a period calculation in the wrong year. This is usually with the time limits longer than 12 months. Double check, or break the calculation down into smaller steps, for example: 
• 0 (priority) + 12m = 12m for end of priority year
• 12m + 6m = 18m for publication
• 18m + 12m = 30m for most national entries
• 30m + 1m = 31m for EP entry

1 Sep 2021 updates: PCT-App and Complete PCT Applicants Guide

In most years, official PCT documents are updated in July/August. However, this year, the WIPO has confirmed that few documents will be changed in 2021. There are no amendments to the PCT Regulations coming into force on 1 July 2021. 

Expected: 

• possibly some changes to the PCT AIs and Forms later this year. 
• 1 July 2022: The new WIPO Standard ST.26 for sequence listings enters into force, together with the many related amendments to the forms and documents.

So, on 1 July 2021, the following texts and references are (still) in force:

From WIPO:

• PCT Treaty (Articles): 03 Oct 01
• PCT Regulations (Rules): 01 Jul 20
• AG-IP (Introduction to International Phase): 01 Jul 20
• AG-NP (Introduction to National Phase): 6 Aug 20
• AI (Administrative Instructions) Part 1 - 8 and Annexes B to G: 1 Jul 20
• AI Annex A (Forms - RO / ISA / SISA / IB / IPEA): 1 Jul 20
• AI Annex F (Electronic filing standard) Main Body & Appendices II - IV: 1 Jul 10
• AI Annex F (Electronic filing standard) Appendix I: 1 Jul 21
• RO-GL (RO Guidelines): 1 Jul 20
• ISPE-GL (International Search & Preliminary Exam. Guidelines): 1 Jul 21
• Added: ISA/IPEA may limit non-unity reasoning to minimum reasoning 10.04A 
• Added: Examples of use of the minimum reasoning 10.59E – 10.59J
• Note that ISPE GL's have many useful non-unity examples in Chapter 10
• A welcome addition to 15.09, because applicants make major critical decisions based on international reports: In order to provide applicants and third parties with high levels of predictability for the potential outcomes of future national or regional prosecution, examiners should endeavor to prepare high quality international search reports and written opinions ... so that they can confidently be used by designated and elected Offices. 
• PCT Fee Tables: 1 Sep 21
• 75% reduction of PCT fees due to the EPO: 1 Jul 21

From EPO:

• EPG (Euro-PCT Guide: PCT Procedure at EPO): 1 Jan 21
• Fees for international applications: 1 Jan 21
• EPO PCT-GL (Search & Examination at EPO as PCT Authority): Mar 2021

Data for specific States found in the Applicant Guide is continuously updated on the WIPO website, so always double check before relying on any state-specific info in real-life cases'

Although, there are few official changes, we have just completed many important updates

Complete PCT Applicant's Guide (1 Sep 2021) - fireballpatents.com/study-materials/complete-pct-ag:

• Many references from 2020 are still valid, so these have not been updated. 
• The PCT states overviews have been combined into one main overview, including reservations and incompatibilities valid on 1 Sep 21
• The PCT fees and Applicant/Office forms overview, valid on 1 Sep 21, have been included
• The ISPE-GL (International Search & Preliminary Exam. Guidelines) has been updated to the 1 July 21 version
• Requirements for Biological Deposits (Annex L) have been added 
• Our legal citation index is included for AG-NP.

PCT.App (1 Sep 2021) - www.pctapp.net/en:

1. Integration of key Paris Convention articles.
Paris Convention articles are now available in the database in German and English to be annotated, incorporated and linked. Only the the most important articles for the PCT, including Article 4 PC (priority), have been included in the appropriate parts of PCT.App, annotated and cross-referenced with the rest of the PCT.

2. All comments and annotations referencing a State with a status date have correspondingly been checked and, where necessary, updated to legal status of 1 Sep 2021.

3. Many parts include comment boxes with a reference overview of other relevant parts. These have been updated to include new internal hyperlinks, so that they can be used online for quick navigation between parts just by clicking.

4. Where possible, provisions are referenced only in the most relevant sections. In some cases, comment boxes are used instead of including the full provisions. These include any additional comments and internal hyperlinks to the more relevant sections.

5. To allow finding answers more quickly, a convenient full-text search has been integrated into the online app and can now be accessed under the menu items "Navigation">"Search".

For more details on the PCT.App updates, click on READ MORE.

Answering D1 Exam 2021 with EPC.App & PCT.App

While doing the D Exam as an official benchmarker, I kept track of how I used the EPC.App and PCT.App references to answer questions. I did this to check usability and completeness. Below are notes on how and where I found the main legal issues, so there are spoilers. The D Exam can be downloaded from the EPO Compendium. See also an earlier post with more about D Exam technical issues. 

I have not included my answers - these were made under exact exam conditions, so there are plenty of mistakes. I have concentrated on D1 use as you need to find things quickly. My main conclusions:

• Both books contained the legal info needed, and allowed it to be found quickly. Exception was Situation B of Q.5 - although this is unlikely to be asked again for many years, it can be important for real life. R.26.3ter is included in PCT.App, but we need to cross-reference that in other sections.
• The fastest way to search in EPC.App and PCT.App is to use the Detailed Contents. Based on your knowledge and the point in the procedure, you should be able to quickly see the most relevant provisions.
• The fastest way to answer PCT questions is to look for an overview of the procedure at the beginning of many sections.
• It is sometimes quicker to search directly in the Guidelines / Applicants Guides as not everything can be neatly sorted under the structure of a legal reference book.

The set of references I used was:

• EPC.App (IP.Appify) => EPC and Euro-PCT legal provisions, case law (Nov 20 - standard version from Amazon with the editor's annotations)
• Indexed EPO-EPC Guidelines (Fireball Patents) => EPC implementation by EPO, case law (1 Nov 19)
• National Law and Validation (Fireball Patents) => National Law tables (implementation by EPC states) and validation agreements (31 Oct 20)
• EPO as a PCT Authority (Fireball Patents) => Euro-PCT and EPO's PCT implementation (31 Oct 20)
• PCT.App (IP.Appify) => PCT and priority part of Paris Convention legal provisions (Sep 20 -  standard from Amazon, but printed with color mark-up made using Print on Demand option)
• Complete PCT Applicant's Guide (Fireball Patents) => PCT implementation by all offices (1 Sep 20)
• PCT References - Part 1 & 2 (Fireball Patents) => Most relevant PCT annexes (implementation by PCT states) and overviews (31 Oct 20)

To find things quickly:

• During study, you need to learn what each book contains and where/how to find it. For example:
• EPC.App is arranged according to Articles in numerical order, together with the relevant Rules. It has a Detailed Contents with the Articles, Rules and other contents like G-Decisions - this is the best tool to quickly scan through the contents if you are not sure where to look. There are also an Index of Legal Provisions to directly find specific Rules, and an Index of Decisions to directly find G, J , R, T & W case law. In general, the Articles and Rules of the EPC are arranged in chronological order as an application proceeds from filing to grant.
• EPO-EPC Guidelines are arranged in approximately chronological Parts as an application proceeds from filing to grant. Substantive issues, such as amendment and patentability, are arranged per subject. The Detailed Table of Contents is the best tool to quickly scan through the contents. In most other cases, you will be following a specific chapter or section link from another reference, such as OJEPO or EPC.App
• PCT.App is arranged according subjects in approximately chronological order, mirroring the structure of the WIPO Introduction to International and National Phases. It has a Detailed Contents with the Articles, Rules and other contents like Admin Instructions - this is the best tool to quickly scan through the contents if you are not sure where to look. There are also an Index of Legal Provisions to directly find specific Article and Rules. In general, the Articles of the PCT are arranged in chronological order as an application proceeds from filing to Chapter I entry, and from examination to Chapter II entry.
• PCT Applicants' Guides (Introduction to International and National Phases) are arranged in approximately chronological order as an application proceeds from filing through search, publication, examination to national entry. The Detailed Table of Contents is the best tool to quickly scan through the contents. In some cases, you will be following a specific chapter or section link from another reference, such as PCT Newsletter or PCT.App.
• To decide on which reference to use during the exam, determine: 
• EPC, PCT or Euro-PCT?
• More likely to be found under legal provisions or implementation?
• If more than one, which will be quickest to find?

My approach to D1: 

• I copied each question completely into the answer sheet, and only used occasional highlighting (this can waste a lot of time and does not generate marks). I left it in my answer just to have a copy immediately after the exam.
• CTRL-C and CTL-V (Win 10) were sufficient to properly copy/paste all D1 questions except Q.4 (needed to manually remove formatting and tidy up lines)
• I use 3 minutes per mark as a rule of thumb to quickly calculate how much time to spend. Traditionally, the D Exam was 330 minutes (3.3 mins/mark). This year, an extra 30 mins was given to compensate for the format (3.6 mins/mark). It is normal to run out of time answering D1 questions.
• There are no negative marks and no requirement to fully complete everything you start - you want to generate enough to get 55 marks or higher. Get the marks first for the things you know well - if necessary, skip a part of a question until the end.
• There is no time to read all the questions first, so I read each question in order as if I am going to answer it completely. If the question seems likely to take a long time to answer (or I have no idea), I skip it and go back to it at the end.
• it is very difficult under pressure to read, understand and apply something you read for the first time (or it seems like the first time)
• even if you think know the issues or can find them, you don't want to waste too much time 
• I identified EPC, PCT and/or Euro-PCT parts while reading
• I copied the last part of the questions ("the explicit questions") as a rough framework for my answer to make sure I didn't forget anything.
• I made a rough vertical timeline by copying phrases and putting them in chronological order (no need to make it nice - just understandable during the exam). I avoided editing by sticking close to the exact wording, although I did reduce some long sentences. E.g.: 
• -- EP-A1 was filed in 2018  A in English - X and Y, and claims invention X only
• --  A.94(3) issued by the EPO on 5 October 2020
• -- received by applicant A on 8 October 2020
• -- No response has been filed
• -- January 2021, he filed a European divisional application EP-A2 based on EP-A1 in French. claiming and describing invention Y
• For some issues I know well, I have an idea how to form the answer and select the argumentation to use. For others, it can be less clear how to proceed, so I just to start working on pieces (like calculating time limits) until a bigger picture emerges. In most cases, the overall answer to the question about whether something is possible or not is added at the end.
• Main part of answer includes identifying the correct law (legal provisions, case law and/or implementation) by citation, applying it step-by-step to the facts given and any other facts you can derive, and giving a conclusion as an answer (yes/no/yes if.../no).
• Be conscious of where you are in the procedure - certain conditions must have already been fulfilled (and thus are less relevant to discuss). Focus should be on the next few weeks and major actions required in the future. Assume that the case takes place on the day of the exam - here 2 Mar 2021. 
• At the end, if time, I check whether there are still facts from question that I have not used - these may need to be included somehow. But I am always trying to get to the next question, and often decide not to address these if I have already answered the question asked.

CLICK BELOW TO SEE THE DETAILS PER QUESTION/PART

e-EQE - D 2021 (EN & DE): copy to try yourself, and many technical problems

Updated: 3 Mar 21 after message from Exam Board

Yesterday was the e-EQE D Exam (still called Paper D even though no paper is used any more 😉. If you want to try yourself, see here for combined EN & DE copy. The text was extracted from peoples answers (sorry, no French). The EPO normally makes official copies available in the compendium in the week after the EQE. 

• I made the exam at the same time as candidates as a bench marker. The Examination Committees have 5 external people per exam, and the answers are used for Committee discussions. They do not directly influence the marking, but allow group discussions on what should and should not be awarded marks
• See below for more detail. I have not discussed the content of the exam, and avoided any spoilers, but I will try and respond to comments on this post or in the Telegram chat about particular questions. Also check the Telegram groups for discussions and comments. 

1. Telegram chat groups

• The main group has 255 members, for general issues and WISEflow + LockDown Browser + Zendesk issues. The (ABC+PE claims analysis) group has 114 members, the (D+PE legal) group has 116 members, and the summer study group for EQE 2022 preparation already has 67 members. Now also a EQE Marketplace if you want to sell or buy EQE materials.
• Mainly for students to discuss with others, but also open to any tutors. 
• If you have just done an exam, only discuss the answers if you can really take it. For most people, it is better not to discuss - you can't change your answer, no-one knows what the marking will be for particular answers (Main Exam) and sometimes more than one Pre-Exam answer is accepted. 
• Group rules: no discussions of ways to cheat, no exchanges of large sections of copyrighted materials (excerpts, annotated examples, WIPO/EPO docs etc. are allowed), no requesting or sharing of exam materials until after the scheduled end of the last part of that exam, no requesting or sharing of invigilator password.

2. WISEflow, before the exam, after the exam

• Own answers were available 45 mins (could also have been earlier) after the scheduled end of the last part (as promised) 👍
• At least one person noticed that the pdf of their answer was missing pages. It is not clear how widespread it is, but it is advisable to check (while you remember) whether it is complete

3. LockDown Browser (many comments posted under PE 2021 post and in Telegram chats)

• After starting LockDown Browser for Part 1 at 0930, the assignment (exam) was only available in German. The selection menu at the top of the thumbnail was missing. So, it was only German in both the preview window and in separate tabs
• I immediately refreshed the Browser, and the menu reappeared, so I only lost 3-4 minutes.
• However, refresh did not work for everybody, or it only worked after 20 minutes, or they had to restart the Browser. Someone said that the Zendesk queue was 1100 people 😭
• At 1020, a message popped up to say that everyone had been given an extra 10 minutes to compensate. My exam countdown clock did not change
• At 1045 (15 minutes before the scheduled end), a second pop up saying that everyone had been given an extra 30 mins, but that the break was reduced from 30 mins to 20 mins, and Part 2 would start at 1150 instead of 1130. The D2 schedule in the afternoon did not change, so the break after Part 2 was reduced from 45 mins to 25 mins. 
• I saw that my countdown clock had changed, but I handed-in at 1103 voluntarily because I was benchmarking
• It is very positive that the EQE organisation were able to react so quickly to help those still working on the exam 👍. However, there were still some issues:
• not everybody's clocks were extended, so they were forced to hand-in at 1105 ( the scheduled end). Some got reactions from Zendesk that they would be compensated for any issues.
• Extending a 90 minute session to 120 minutes without breaks was a problem for some
• It is pretty stressful when the start times change because you need to be there on time to log-in
• Some people reported the same problem in D1-2 (Part 2)
• Update: On official e-EQE page, a message from Examination Board (3 Mar 21):
• The Examination Board of the EQE is aware of a situation that affected paper D1.1. The Examination Board guarantees that the marking process will be conducted so that no candidate will be disadvantaged because of that.👍👍👍

• Problems seen when handing-in answers at the end of D2 (quoted from Telegram chat)
• Could not submit because of "connection error". System message gets you nowhere as everything is greyed out. 
• Told by Zendesk to refresh. They said it's a common issue. System overload as everyone submits at the same time (and the D-2 has a larger data volume). 
• So be aware of this for A,B, C-1 and C-2

• Screen went white approx, 10mins before end of  Part 1 (quoted from Telegram chat, occurred during Pre-Exam)
• Browser would not start for Part 2, so 10 mins late to get it to work. 
• Froze again in the middle of part 2, and again 3 mins before the end of part 2, forced to reinstall lockdown browser each time
• Both times answers had to be handed in afterwards as missed end time of exam.
• Managed to get remote assistance from IT over lunch break 👍. They removed loads of programs and checked IP addresses which fixed the issue.
• Not sure what it was as didn’t happen in any of the mocks. Hope to have passed - it was very disruptive. 

• Invigilators were very friendly and tried to help.👍

4. Reporting complaints & problems to helpdesk@eqe.org

• See here for post about Instructions to Candidates
• ItC 11- email complaints regarding conduct as soon as possible, but no later than end of day of the exam. ItC 39 - email report on any disruptions during exam for which candidates are not responsible or which are beyond their control within 24 hrs of end of exam.
• The EQE organisation is well aware of many issues, and general issues affecting large numbers of people will be taken into account during the marking. However, they may not be aware how a disruption or incident has affected an individual candidates performance. The idea of reporting is to give them a chance to consider whether to take it into account during the marking. They may also not realise how a positive thing for many (30 mins extension) could have a negative effect on an individual.
• As an emails need to be sent very quickly, and most candidates are pretty tired after the exam, I worked with Preston Richard (Bardehle Pagenberg) to make a complaint template with some of the possible things you may wish to mention (we collected them from the blogs and chats). It may also reduce the number of emails from each candidate.
• But don't just copy everything and send it - it must be personalised to explain your situation and experiences.

CLICK BELOW FOR MORE ABOUT D EXAM (no spoilers)