Internet Resources & Calendars during EPAC 2022 & EQE 2023

During the exams, only LIMITED ONLINE ACCESS will be available. So, you will need to print references and CALENDARS yourself before the exam. WISEflow allows access via the Permitted Internet Resources menu to EPO Legal Texts (En / Ge / Fr) and PCT APPLICANT’s Guide (En / Fr) only.

We have made a set of Exam Calendars available, including the closing days from the EPO, as well as some guidance about using them and calculating time limits.

See IP.appify Blog post for more details.

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

• Only for TARGETED look-up - you can WASTE A LOT OF TIME searching and reading. Under stress, you will not be able to properly understand references you have never seen before. 
• Advanced website search: Home >Search 
• link is on EPO home page and at bottom right on Legal Texts page
• search can be limited to specific language and specific legal texts
• EPO office holidays: Home >Service & support >Official holidays
• Extension / Validation OJEPO's: Home >Law & practice >Legal texts >Extension/validation system
• London Agreement: Home >Law & practice >Legal texts >London Agreement
• National Law Tables: Home >Law & practice >Legal texts >National law relating to the EPC
• EPO-EPC Guidelines: Home >Law & practice >Legal texts >EPC Guidelines
• OJEPO's: Home >Law & practice >Legal texts >Official Journal
• OJEPO Search: Home >Law & practice >Legal texts >Official Journal >Search
• link is at left on Official Journal page
• search can be limited to specific language, parts of of OJEPO and specific dates
• EPO Fees: Home >Applying for a patent >Fees >European (EPC) fees
• EPO-PCT Guidelines: Home >Law & practice >Legal texts >PCT-EPO Guidelines
• International Applications (PCT): Home >Applying for a patent >International route (PCT)
• Euro-PCT Guide: Home >Applying for a patent >International route (PCT) >Guide for applicants

Other External References (only in emergencies)

• Look first for established Case Law in EPO Guidelines and G-Decisions. 
• BoA Case Law: Home >Law & practice >Boards of Appeal >Case Law of the Boards of Appeal
• BoA Case Law Search: Home >Law & practice >Boards of Appeal >Search decisions

For details on official Guidelines versions, click READ MORE.