EQE: 16 Mar 2023 - C Exam - no copy (sorry) and my comments

Thursday was the e-EQE C Exam (C-1: 0930-1230 CET - 180 mins and C-2: 1315-1615 CET - 180 mins). Sorry, I do not have a copy available (I was not a benchmarker), but please post any comments you have. The EPO normally makes official copies of the exams available in the compendium in the week after the EQE.

• I heard from many people that the subject matter was very mechanical.
• There were also a lot of complaints about the amount that you needed to read in C-1 before you could answer. Most people seemed to have needed 2 hours before they could start answering.
• In the afternoon, the experiences seem to have been reversed, with plenty of time available. But, according to the exam rules, it is not allowed to answer any of the morning questions in the afternoon.
• A common feeling is that the exam timing should have been C-1: 4 hrs and C-2 hrs.
• Having to read so much in C-1 is a severe disadvantage to non-native speakers.
• I also don't understand why the C exam is not split evenly into 2 parts, either as 2 mini cases or two sets of associated claims with different prior art. The committee has had 2 years to do this - the WISEflow restrictions are still the same as in 2021. There is no excuse for this. Again, there will be many "fit-to-practice" candidates having to retake the C-exam in 2024.
• I have heard a rumor that candidates who seem to improve their understanding of the case during the afternoon are suspected of cheating by discussing part 1 with someone else. There is also an innocent explanation - candidates are so overwhelmed in C-1 that they start reading as soon as they have printed out C-2. Or some of them reread C-1 in the lunch break. This is not forbidden by the rules - it is just a risk because they do not know how relevant the C-1 information will be in C-2. But for 2021, 2022, and 2023 it has been very relevant. There is a very simple way to fix this - split the exam properly!
• And again, it seems that all the discussions about changing the exam syllabus are also completely pointless because the committees will just make the exams that they want to. I have now changed my opinion to be in favour of the multiple-choice only option originally proposed by the EPO.
• It is unacceptable that good, well-prepared candidates are now spending several years trying to pass these 4 exams due to the unpredictable technical problems and due to the unexpected exam contents. 
• And non-native speakers continue to be punished. They do not expect any favours, but they should be treated fairly and they should able to adequately prepare based on previous exams.

e-EQE: 17 Mar 2022 - C Exam - copy to try yourself

 Today was the e-EQE C Exam (Part 1: 0930-1230 CET - 180 mins and part 2: 1315 - 1615 CET - 180 mins). If you want to try yourself, see here for Part 1 files: C1-printable-EN (2022), C1-printable-FR (2022), C1-printable-DE (2022), C1-claims-EN (2022), C1-claims-DE (2022). And the Part 2 files: C2-printable-EN (2022), C2-printable-FR (2022), C2-printable-DE (2022), C2-claims-EN (2022), C2-claims-DE (2022). The claims were only available digitally, and have been extracted from candidate's answers (sorry, no French). The EPO normally makes official copies available in the compendium in the week after the EQE.

• The general impression seems to be that there was still a lot to read in Part 1, but that it was more manageable than 2021. I have not made the exam yet, so I cannot comment on it myself.
• Just like last year, there ere a lot of issues when handing the answers at the end of each part (see below)
• If you had any issues with the exam, report them as soon as possible to helpdesk@eqe.org. Formally, complaints must be formally 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. You can also give a reason why you were not able to submit immediately after the exam, such as tiredness or needing to prepare for the next exam.

1. Telegram chat groups

• Join the EQE Telegram groups to discuss issues with other candidates: Main group (324 members), Study group (133 members), ABC&PE-claims (206 members), D&PE-legal (166 members) and Marketplace (72 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: At least 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. This year, it seemed as if the documents were available about 20 minutes before the start. 
• Most copies of candidates C1 answers were timely available Part 1 for printing.
• 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 problem. It was a pdf conversion issue, and the complete answers were correctly submitted and could be easily be reconverted. This year, at least one person in A had the first letters of each paragraph missing and some words in between were also missing.

3. FLOWlock / LockDown Browser

• 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 correctly installed. However, I learned from a couple of people that contrary to the normal meaning of the word "Verify", the command does not check whether the Browser is up to date. The only way to check appears to be to download the latest version and compare the file name with the earlier one you downloaded. 
• Several people did report Browser stability problems after updating - everything was fine during their mock exams in February.
• Browser crashes during A, B, C and D: many people had crashes, even with home computers on home networks who had no problems during the mocks. 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.
• Prepare a backup system: I heard on Monday 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: several many people found after a crash (and logging in again) that chat window remained open in the "Calling representative" or "Contacting invigilation" 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. At least one person had to waste more time calling the EQE helpdesk telephone number (which has very limited capacity) to get back in because the chat was frozen. 
• 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).
• Lost lines from answer: after a FLOWlock Browser crash, rebooting and logging-in, one person reported that they were missing the lines from the last several minutes of thier had been lost, and they had to retype them.
• 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.
• At least one person reported that after setting the zoom to 125%, they spontaneously got the blurred window again. They were advised by the helpdesk to just close the preview window.
• Many problems handing-in: both at the end of Part 1 and at the end of Part 2. 
• This was a major problem last year during C, related to the high number of candidates handing in relatively long exam answers. This is an area where WISEflow and the FLOWlock Browser work well - you need to first try refreshing (F5 "clockwise arrow" at the top left). If that does not work, contact the helpdesk who will guide you. During the C exam, the large number of calls made the response slow, but everybody was eventually helped. The main issue is having such a problems at the end of Part 1 - many did not get a full scheduled break,  and some were not able to print out their Part 1 answer for reference during Part 2.
• There are many options available to the invigilator, including downloading your answer locally using an administrators menu and emailing it. FLOWlock Browser is continuously saving versions local and cloud versions of your answer. But always  check your answer to see if it seems complete.
• Even if you managed to file your answer and everything seems fine, you should still file a complaint. it is unlikely that there will be problems, but just in case some of your answer got corrupted or appears missing. They can then double check if something looks strange during the marking.

e-EQE: 17 Mar 2022 - C Exam - good luck!

Final Preparations

Updated 11 Mar 22: added entry photo requirements
Updated 10 Mar 22: clarify that you must print before starting FLOWlock Browser

• This is a detailed exam schedule for C 2022, indicating scheduled and unscheduled break times. 
• External Resources at www.epo.org are available online during the exam. For all other materials, you will need to have them on paper. If you are planning to annotate digitally, be prepared to deal with limitations in the software.
• The B and C Exams are the least adapted to the new digital format. If it is similar to the 2021 exam, there will be quite a lot to read, a lot to answer and not much time to waste.
• My suggestion for C is to either just work on paper, or combine paper & digital. Only working digitally is not a good idea - you are disadvantaging yourself in time, and you lose the ability to compare and make permanent notes. Digital annotations made in Part 1 are not available in Part 2, and your own answer to Part 1 is only available to print before starting Part 2 (it is not available digitally).
• To work exclusively on paper, you just need to carefully copy the claims as granted onto paper, which you will have with you for the rest of the exam (and during the scheduled break). Depending on how the exam is divided, there will be new claims to be attacked in Part 2, and possibly new prior art.
• 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. 
• During scheduled exam times and unscheduled 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 the 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!

e-EQE 2022: working digitally and/or on paper during B & C Exam

10 Mar 22: extra comment added about view mode. 6 Mar 22: added highlighting notes from EQE FAQ's. Updated 1 Mar 22: updated with link to DeltaPatents blog. Working digitally has many advantages, but there are still many limitations in WISEflow, and the adaptation of the EQE exams to this format has not yet been completed. 

The B and C Exams are the least adapted to the new format, and it is expected that the style and adaptation of the EQE2022 exams will be similar to those in 2021. I can't think of any other field where you could get away with the excuse that 16 months was not long enough to adapt a professional qualification exam to the exam system that they have chosen. 

For B, you need to combine paper & digital because of the limited documents available for printing. My suggestion is to always print everything available before the exam - don't rely on just digital copies.

My suggestion for C is to either just work on paper, or combine paper & digital. Only working digitally is not a good idea - you are disadvantaging yourself in time, and you lose the ability to compare and make permanent notes. To work exclusively on paper, you just need to carefully copy the claims as granted onto paper, which you will have with you for the rest of the exam (and during the scheduled break).

You have to find your own balance between paper and digital, but the goal remains the same: type-in the most complete answer possible within the time available. Also make sure that you understand the room/technical requirements and know how to avoid FLOWlock Browser crashes.

Type-in the most complete answer possible within the time

• 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). For example in C, write any novelty attacks as soon as you see them.
• If you are working digitally, it is fine to have a "notes" or "analysis" section in your answer, and to hand-it in. Help you marker by clearly distinguishing between "notes"/"analysis" and your answer to the exam.

Comparison works best on paper

• FLOWlock does not allow side-by-side viewing of tabs, so you can only click between them. 
• The exam preview window can be viewed next to the answer tab, but it is very limited in functionality. Some have also had problems with the preview window being blurry.
• Comparison is key in the B exam: between the claims as filed and the client's proposed claims, between the claims as filed and the application as filed, between the application as filed and the prior art. You get a good idea of the similarities in structure between prior art and the patent by placing the drawings next to each other, which is only possible on paper.
• Comparison in C is also a time saver: you get a good idea of the similarities in structure between prior art and the patent by placing the drawings next to each other, which is only possible on paper.
• But be aware that paper is a stepping stone to your typed-in answer - there are no marks for anything on paper.

Digital exam annotations are lost

• The new highlighting/annotations are greatly improved, but for a split exam such as C, digital annotations in Part 1 are not available in Part 2. For Part 2, the assignments provided are all new digital copies, and there is no access to Part 1.
• In addition, highlighting and annotating the same exam in different tabs is not recommended. The pdf viewer cannot handle separate instances of the same document simultaneously, so only the highlights/annotations from one of the tabs are saved (locally on the candidate’s PC). Highlights/annotations done on the same assignment opened in further tabs are eventually lost when the tab is closed.
• See also the explanation here in the DeltaPatents EQE blog. 
• You also need to switch from "Annotate" to "View" before you can copy paste form an exam tab. If the text has already been highlighted in "Annotate" mode, you cannot select this highlighted text directly in "View" mode with the mouse - you need to start the selection at un-highlighted text adjacent to where you want to select.
• From EPO FAQ: You can open the assignment in one tab, annotate and add comments and navigate by clicking in the “Panel“ view in the upper left-hand corner. You can then navigate either via “Thumbnails” view or via the “Outlines” view (if available in the assignment).

Don't try to make your answer look nice

• You can also highlight and format in your answer to help you navigate in your own answer. But don't waste time just formatting your answer to make it look good. It is the content that gets marks, and the marker understanding the context of each statement correctly. 
• Use one or two heading styles in your answer (Heading3 or Heading4 are the smallest in font size). Before applying the style, isolate the text to its own paragraph by hitting enter before the text and after (otherwise style is applied to the whole of the current paragraph). The in the assignment thumbnail, select Table of Contents. This will give you info about your answer. Theses headings automatically generate a clickable Table of Contents which quickly jumps you around in your answer.

Keyword search of exam is available

• You should use the search function, but that only helps in some cases. Often many of the claim terms are found explicitly in the prior art, but sometimes technical synonyms or different forms (plurals, verbs instead of nouns etc.) are used, making searching a little more difficult. The C exam is infamous for hiding definitions in unexpected and artificial places.

Paper annotations are not lost and are continuously available

• As soon as the documents are printed, you can already start reading.
• For a split exam, like C, you have all of the Part 1 documents available to use in preparation for Part 2.  Also during the scheduled break. You can also have all your Part 1 documents documents with you during Part 2.

Specific comments for the C Exam

• Unfortunately, you will not have digital access to your Part 1 answer during Part 2 - you can only print your answer and have it on paper during Part 2. If you do any digital searching in Part 1 or make digital notes on features, you can include it in answer as "notes or background" separate from your answer to Part 1. You will then be able to print them out with your Part 1 answer before starting Part 2.
• I think the people who did well in 2021 worked exclusively on paper. They started reading as soon as they had everything printed (this is not forbidden by the rules) and probably read through everything again during the scheduled break (again not forbidden by the rules). Because the prior art was not divided at all in 2021, you could prepare extensively for Part 2.
• We do not know how it will be split this year (hopefully it will be better) but they have suggested it will be very similar to last year. Certainly, any document not directly required at all in Part 1, is likely to be needed in Part 2. You will see straight away in Part 1 if the split is better - if relatively few or much shortened prior art documents are provided in part 1, then they have improved the split.
• To work exclusively on paper, you just need to carefully copy the claims as granted onto paper, which you will have with you for the rest of the exam (and during the scheduled break).
• Opposition formal data: you are not allowed to include anything in Part 2 that should have been in Part 1. So, any info that remains the same can be in either part (patent number, opponent, mention that the fee is paid etc). Part 1 will need to at least include a statement on the extent of the opposition, and possibly a summary of the grounds. Have a look at the model solution in the Examiners Report from 2021 - you will see that there are very few marks for the formal opposition data, and not much is required.
• Write any novelty attacks as soon as you see them. It is better to spend time on a first attack on all the claims than on a third attack on claim 1. Check the closest prior art for each claim, including each dependent one - there is usually at least one trap where the object of the claim changes in a dependent claim.

e-EQE - C 2021 (D/E): copy to try, last exam, few technical problems

Updated 7 Mar 21 with status picture. Updated 6 Mar 21 with extra comments on C. Updated 5 Mar 21 with WISEflow unavailable picture :-)

Today was the e-EQE C Exam. I have extracted the claims of the patent as granted and added them to the printable files. I have also put the claims at the end of each part to simulate exam conditions - DE version, EN version (sorry no FR), The official compendium versions will be available next week.

• I have not made it yet, but check the Telegram groups for some discussions and comments. Today there were not a lot of discussions - most seem to be happy to have survived the first eEQE, and to start the weekend early. Some discussion about the length and complexity. See below for some comments on the problems.
• No widespread technical issues 👍👍👍

1. Thanks to the EQE organisation, and good luck with the marking

• Thanks to all the invigilators, helpdesk staff, EQE secretariat members, and epi/EPO members who have been working tirelessly for the last few months to make it happen. Even under pretty stressful conditions (on both sides), the majority of candidates said that they felt listened to and helped 👍👍👍. 
• it seems that the general experience during the C exam that everything was running smoothly 💪.
• And good luck to those involved in the marking - at least you will not have to struggle with poor handwriting any more 😉, although there are a lot of spelling mistakes and copy/paste errors to puzzle over.

2. My suggestions to candidates after the eEQE

• You survived the historic first eEQE 🥇
• Put your TAB and WINKEY caps back 😀

• Manually uninstall Lockdown Browser: in Win10, it is found in the start menu under Respondus
• be suspicious of any emails mentioning WISEflow or Lockdown Browser
• if you get any emails about "updates" of the Lockdown Browser, do not click on them

• ... actual screenshot of WISEflow (5 Mar 21 2330) - EQE candidates got their revenge 💣💣💣💣, or at least "broke" WISEflow

• ... and the status page on Friday indicated that the last major incident was 3 days ago (Tues was also the "D1 incident")

• Preferably unplug all the extra cameras and microphones. Or at least cover the cameras when not in use.

• Take a couple of days off and celebrate as much as you can respecting your local lockdown rules 😉
• Don't read blog posts about model answers. They are usually made by EQE nerds who made the exams under relaxed conditions. They could still be wrong. Even if it is a perfect answer, no-one knows where all the marks will be awarded. 
• The marking sheets are only finalised after the exam following discussions within the committees about what to accept and what not. For example, if there was an issue almost no-one dealt with, they usually compensate by awarding marks for something else that most people got. The exams also have built-in fail-safes, so if you miss something, you will not lose marks everywhere. 

3. Telegram chat groups

• The main group has 285 members, for general issues and WISEflow + LockDown Browser + Zendesk issues. The (ABC+PE claims analysis) group has 159 members, the (D+PE legal) group has 131 members, and the summer study group for EQE 2022 preparation already has 81 members. Now also a EQE Marketplace if you want to sell or buy EQE materials.
• Started for students to discuss with others, but completely open to any tutors from any organisation who want to just read or join the discussions. 
• 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.

4. WISEflow, before the exam, after the exam

• At least one person noticed that the pdf of their D1-Part 1 and D2 answers was missing statements and even had a blank page. It is not clear how widespread it is, but it is advisable to check (while you remember) whether it is complete after the exam.
• I have not seen any messages about problems after the A, B or C Exams
• The copy of the answer from Part 1 was available very quickly in WISEflow 👍. 

5. LockDown Browser

• No widespread technical issues 👍👍👍
• Wednesday, after the widespread problems D1-Part 1, the Examination Board issued a very clear unambiguous commitment to ease candidates minds:
• On the 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)
• No problems reported for C-1 and C-2.
• Copy/paste from the C Exam did not retain the formatting at all, and CTRL-SHIFT-V or the remove formatting button removed line breaks and a lot of spaces between words.
• copy/paste is a major advantage of an online exam. It is disappointing that this cannot be made to function properly

6. 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 COMMENTS ON C (no spoilers) 

Which version of the EPO and EPO-PCT Guidelines to use for EQE 2020?

** See amended advice here: EQE 2021 - which legal texts to use? ** 

The syllabus is defined in Regulation on EQE (REE) A.13 and IPREE R.2 and R.22 (latest: OJEPO 2019,SE2). R.22 specifies that legal texts valid on 31 Oct in the year before the exam are relevant. This cut-off was intended to simplify EQE preparation, as the new versions of the EPO Guidelines (Guidelines for Examination in the EPO) and the EPO-PCT Guidelines (Guidelines for Search & Examination at EPO as PCT Authority) only enter into force on 1 Nov each year. So the "older" versions, published 18 months before the EQE, are the official ones.
In practice, the choice is more complicated - for your daily work, you need to be familiar with the most up-to-date versions, and preparing for the Pre-Exam and Main Exam are done in consecutive years, meaning that you may have to consider at least three versions. The EPO Guidelines may also be relevant for any paper, not just the legal part.

Option 1: use "older" (official) versions
- the versions valid on 31 Oct 2019, published on 1 Nov 2018.
- this seems straightforward, but OJEPO publications and legal changes between 1 Nov 2018 and 31 Oct 2019 still need to be monitored.
- also look through the changes made in the 1 Nov 2019 "newer" versions, as most of these are based on changes known in early 2019
- this is the version expected by the Examination Committees when a EPO or EPO-PCT Guideline reference is given


Option 2: use "newer" versions
- the versions which will still be valid on 31 Oct 2020, published on 1 Nov 2019 (note that these will be the official versions for EQE 2021).
- OJEPO publications and legal changes between approx. Apr 2019 and 31 Oct 2019 still need to be monitored as not everything may have been amended in the Guidelines. But there is less chance of missing anything.
- this is less preferred by the Examination Committees, but candidates are not penalized for using a newer version (this was confirmed at the Tutor's Meeting in October 2019), but the version (year) should be indicated at least once for each paper.

Conclusion:
- both options can be equally successful. 95% of the Guidelines are unchanged, and if you know them inside out, you will be able to answer most EPC-related questions.
- if you mark up your Guidelines, it is probably makes sense to use option 1 for the Pre-Exam and option 2 (same version) for the Main Exam one year later.

Reference books:
I have Indexed versions available here, which are compact in size, and simplify and speed up finding things. The index also indicates major updates made in the last 3 years:
- Indexed EPO Guidelines - "older" version (1 Nov 2018 - EN) or "newer" version (1 Nov 2019 - EN/DE)
- EPO as PCT Authority - "older" version (1 Oct 2019) or "newer" version (1 Nov 2019)
--- this is a new reference book, which includes indexed versions of the EPO-PCT Guidelines and Euro-PCT Guide (EPG).

EQE 2019 - Paper C

I sat the paper under exam conditions in Munich as a bench marker to give the examination committees some materials for their marking discussion. If you want to try the paper yourself, here are the compendium copies in English, French & German.

This paper was much more manageable than last year - it was possible to do some attacks during the reading, and once you had read the documents, it was clear where a lot of the pieces should approximately go. It was a lot of work to finish -  I had to cut my inventive step attacks and explanation down to the key points only. I heard from a couple of people that it was impossible to finish, but they had the feeling that they had done enough to pass (assuming they were on the right track).

The last day of the EQE is hard going, with a tired brain and tired hands from writing. I got up a little late, so I didn't have time to iron my shirt. I got to the exam on time, annoyed that I would have to sit there the whole day in my wrinkled shirt. And then I opened the exam to read all about irons and steam irons 😄. I wonder if it is based on a Philips Electronics case - there was an address in The Netherlands, and Eindhoven was mentioned where I am based.

See below for more comments and possibly some spoilers

I will be a "guinea-pig" again for the epi in Munich (EQE 2019)

I am happy to have been picked again to "guinea-pig" the EQE papers on behalf of the epi. I will be doing all the papers again - A, B, C and D. Although we are called "bench markers", we do not calibrate the exam or set a base level. The Examination Committees and markers rely on our papers for initial discussions about aspects that should get (or not get) marks and the weighting for the aspects. This helps fine-tune their internal instructions before they start the actual marking. They have about 6 people making each paper at different locations and with different backgrounds under exam conditions - these volunteers have already passed the EQE, and ideally they want us to score around 50 points.

To anyone who has passed the EQE (or passes it next year), please consider volunteering next year when the epi sends the email in October. It is very much appreciated by the Examination Board and Committees. You are not paid for the hours, but travelling expenses are refunded by the EPO via the epi. It is also possible to sign up for one paper only, but the chance of being picked is higher if you sign up for more than one. For EQE tutors, it is invaluable to sit papers you see for the first time like this.

Report from the EQE Tutors Meeting - Oct 2018

In October, the EPO & epi arrange an annual meeting of EQE Tutors and members of the EQE Committees (EC's). Information & views are exchanged to help Tutors prepare Candidates for future exams, and to influence how future exams are made and marked. It is a good opportunity to learn about how each paper is made and tested, and to meet the EC's. In particular, anything highly relevant for the next exam (in this case EQE 2019) is communicated.
A full report usually appears in the December version of epi information (I don't make this anymore), but here are my most important conclusions:

1. ABCD: extra 30 minutes

• There were concerns that some papers (this year B and C) seemed to be longer than average, eating up the extra 30 minutes given to make the paper. The EC's assured us that the papers are made and tested based on the time limits defined in the Exam Regulations (REE). The extra 30 minutes remains extra time for candidates to make the paper, and compensates for slower reading and writing by those who do not do the paper in their native language. 
• My advice is to build & practice a methodology for doing the papers without the extra 30 minutes. You can then decide at the exam how to use this.

2. D: lower passing rate in 2018

• Only 33% of candidates got 50 marks or higher this year for the D paper (45% got 45 or higher). 

Congratulations to those who passed EQE 2018

The results for the EQE Main Exam 2018 are here. Congratulations if you passed at least something - none of the papers are easy, especially when you take into account the stress. There were many comments in the Candidate's survey this year that the extra 30 minutes seems to have been cancelled out by the increased length, particularly for C and D. C and D tend to require a lot of writing, so if more time is needed to read the papers, there is less time is available to score points.

The missing scores in the graphs below at 43, 44, 49, 50 are due to the extra check that is done - if you are just failing, everything you handed-in is screened to see if you are to be considered "fit-to-practice". If so, extra points may be awarded

Paper D

Well-done to those who passed D. The final passing rate is about 7% less than last year. The DI was a lot to get through. DII was a different style compared to recent years, but it was also shorter than in 2017. My advice for D is to skip one of the DI questions (the one you know will take a long time to look up and answer). Do the DII as fully as possible and the rest of the DI questions.

Paper C

C was 7 pages longer than in 2017 - I felt like it took forever to read everything. The passing rate is slightly (3%) lower than last year, so it does not seem to have been a problem. Unfortunately, with C, you have to go through every thing - even documents that are not to suitable for the major part of an attack may contain definitions or something else useful. On C, when you have enough for an attack, write it down - don't wait for the complete picture before starting.

Paper B

This was the second year with the universal technologies. The relatively high passing rate from 2017 (80%) has been maintained. It seems that more Candidates scored 60 - 80 points compared to 2017. The advantage of the B paper (compared to A) is that you are given the starting point (the claims and part of the description as filed), and you are pointed towards the solution by the objections of the examiner and the letter from the client.


Paper A

The A paper also has the same passing rate as last year (62%). To optimally prepare for A, you need to be familiar with both chemistry and electromechanical claiming practice, as well as know how to draft a method and product/apparatus claim.

See here for an easy-to-use site dedicated to the EQE statistics made by Joeri Beetz, allowing you to do your own analysis.

EQE 2018 Paper C

Today I did paper C. If you want to look, here are official copies of the paper.

It felt very long, and it turns out it was 7 pages longer than 2017.

Most of the people I talked to had issues getting through everything, and the inventive step seemed very complicated to sort out. Almost every document had comments related to other documents, and some negative statements which were possibly meant to be teachings away.

There were some relatively straightforward novelty attacks (which you could do when you found them), but for the inventive step attacks you would usually read through everything first to see what the strongest was. By that time, there was not much time left to write out the attacks, and it was not so easy to pick the closest prior art. The comments I heard from others was that it was "overwhelming" and "endless reading".

In a few weeks you will get a copy of your answers. If you cut up the exam paper (with your childsafe scissors ,-),  and glued or taped it into your answer, check carefully to see if any piece is missing. Or whether there are pages missing. It can happen that pages get stuck together, and then are missed during scanning. Or pieces fall off. If you notice anything, notify the EQE secretariat.

I will be an epi benchmarker in Munich for EQE 2018

Every year, the Examination Committees rely on papers from "benchmarkers" to help fine-tune the marking. These papers are made by people who have already passed the EQE, and ideally they are looking for people who can get around 50 points.
The benchmarkers take the exam at the same time as everybody else under the same exam conditions. Their answers are then be used in the group discussions about what should be awarded points, and what is insufficient.
I am happy to support this on behalf of the epi. To anyone who has passed the EQE (or passes it this year), please volunteer next year when the epi sends the email in October. It is very much appreciated by the Examination Board and Committees. 

Last year I only did the D paper - this year I will do all 4 papers (D, A, B, C) in Munich. I just bought my safety scissors in case I need to cut up the papers.


Good luck!

The official answers to the EQE 2017 papers are now available

The Examination Committe's have published their Examiners' reports containing a good "possible solution", some alternatives and comments on how the papers was actually answered by candidates.
A: Report, B: Report, C: Report, D: Report
If you unfortunately didn't pass, you should be able to get some idea what you missed using your marking sheet (which is sent by post) and these Examiner' Reports.
Note that these are not model solutions and there may be other comments/arguments that got points.

Congratulations to all those who passed one or more EQE papers

The EPO has published the results for the EQE Main Exam 2017 here. Congratulations to all those who passed at least something - none of the papers are easy, especially when you take into account the stress.

The missing scores at 43, 44, 49, 50 are due to the extra check that is done - if you are just failing, everything you wrote is screened to see if you are "fit-to-practice". If so, extra points are awarded

Paper D

In particular, well-done to those who passed D - it was a difficult paper to get through to the end. The final passing rate is about the same as last year.

Paper C

Well-done passing C - the amount of documents and text you have to deal with always makes this sometime unpredictable.

Paper B

Together with A, this was the first year with the universal technologies. It looks like a success.


Paper A

This was expected to be quite difficult for some technical backgrounds. Of all the distributions, this is the most spread out. On A, the maximum number of points you can score is limited if you begin with a inferior solution - that may explain it to some extent.
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