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

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

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

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

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

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

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

General points

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

1. Location for exam

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

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eEQE 2021 Mock1 - Experience & Tips - A, B & C

Updated 28 Jan 21 with comments from eEQE FAQs

Updated 27 Jan 21: see post on using digital functionality more during exam.

Based on Mock1, C seems doable with 2 papers practice - it is a struggle to deal with such a long answer in a single view, so you really need to be organised. The claims are short, so I just copied the features onto paper.

I could do this paper A within the 4 hours, but I know this paper quite well and it is relatively straightforward.  Not having the letter slows you down - in paper A, you cannot just make one pass and use everything, you have to keep going back to the letter, and there is no way to mark what I have used or not used. Each paper is very different (like a real client's letter), so you cannot prepare any detailed templates beforehand to help organise. Luckily, you can copy claim language into your answer when you see it - fortunately, with A, the claims are most of the marks and with the combined technology papers, you get a lot of claim language in the current papers. 

B took me an extra 30 minutes. Very hard to do online - there are a lot of  pages you dont have. You need to compare a lot, so it is easy to miss something when clicking on the different tabs. It took me a long time as I had to double check a lot of things. More time would help, but I would prefer to be able to print everything. Or have everything except the claims as filed and the clients claims (consistent with C). Also, a simple way should be provided for including an amended set of claims - in real life, the EPO will only accept very minor amendments without such a claim set (GL H-III, 2.2). The main thing to remember in Paper B is that the clients letter and claims are telling you the direction to go in - if you follow that, but not blindly, you may not need to read everything in detail 

Important is to find the way that is most efficient for you that results in the fewest mistakes. Concentrate on the content (as before) and dont be distracted by additional possibilities to make your answers look nice. Feel free to distribute any materials as long as you indicate the source. There is a separate post for PE and D with many general comments which still hold. I have only repeated the most relevant here.

Hardware - see PE & D post. 27inch external monitor 1280x1080

Software - see PE & D post. 

General plus points:

• See PE & D post.  
• When starting Lockdown Browser, it detected that Windows Update was active, giving the chance to stop and turn it off :-)
• Can open many tabs of assignments, zoom and search in them, allowing separate views of pages or parts of pages. But max. 10 tabs in total visible for 27 inch screen.

General minus points:

• See PE & D post. 
• If something goes wrong (interface freezes) you may have to reset your whole computer. There are some invigilator options in the main tab for saving and printing that can be activated with the Invigilator Password. If you are viewing a different tab, click (i) in browser, select "Proctor Exit", and then enter Invigilator Password to exit.
• For A, B, C no highlighting. For pages only available on-screen, impossible to keep track of what you used or noticed. For B, it is a lot to have visible in the tabs.
• Multiple tabs cannot be named or viewed side-by-side
• Bug 1: max of 9 additional tabs (in addition to main tab). If you open 11th tab (10th additional tab), browser freezes and PC must be rebooted. It is also possible to click (i) in browser, select "Proctor Exit", and then enter Invigilator Password to exit.
• Bug 2: with smaller screens (14 inch), tabs can be opened but not accessed as they are off screen. Max. 6 tabs visible on 14 inch screen. 
• Only one view of your answer available, so for long answers (A, B, C) you may need to scroll around.

Tips - ME A, B, C

• See PE & D post. 
• Use separate online tabs for at least the non-printable pages. For A and C, can use 1 tab for each non-printable page. For B, too many pages, so can group into 1-2 tabs per document. With a 27-inch screen, full page view is easily readable. But max. 10 tabs allowed.
• For copy/paste in tabs, try selecting bottom up instead of top down before copying
• CTRL keys work in answer - A, C, X, V, B, U, I etc. "Shift+arrow" works for selection
• CTRL A, C work in assignment tab
• CTRL F works for find in assignment tab, or find/replace in answer
• CTRL Z, Y work for undo, redo
• CTRL-SHIFT V also works to paste in answer without formatting
• Use one or two heading types in answer (Heading3 or Heading4) - this allows you to click on headings in Table of Contents to quickly jump (this worked the first time I used it, but when I went back the clicking did not work anymore).
• To reduce risk of copying wrong details to paper overviews, read assignment in tabs and select dates or facts (as if you were going to copy) before you not them so that you do not lose your place, making it easier to double check.
• You don't need complete sentences - answers can be given bullet-style to reduce scrolling.

Suggested improvements:

• See PE & D post. 
• ME: fix the bug that more than 10 tabs requires a reboot.
• ME: as a general rule, a maximum of 4 pages should be available only on the screen. Any more is to difficult to read when they are in separate tabs.
• ME: allow 2-4 assignment tabs (which allowing selection & copying) to be displayed side-by-side in a single view.
• A: Provide all exam to print or give extra time
• B: Provide all exam to print or give extra time. Possibly compromise: only claims as filed and client claims are unprintable.
• B: Provide format to include claim set showing amendments
• ME: allow text-only appendices to be defined and inserted into answer. These would allow different sections of answer to be visible in different tabs. This would help the most in C as the answer is very long. But max. nr of allowed tabs needs to be increased.
• ME: make sure hyperlinks in Table of Contents work reliably

CLICK BELOW FOR MORE ABOUT A, B, & C

eEQE 2021 Mock1 - Experience & Tips - PE & D1/D2

Updated 27 Jan 21: see post on using digital functionality more during exam. Updated 7 Jan 21. Based on Mock1, PE, D1 and D2 seem very doable with a small amount of practice. Important is to find the way that is most efficient for you that results in the fewest mistakes. It is a pity that no highlighting is available in D1/D2 - this would reduce the risk of mistakes. Concentrate on the content (as before) and dont be distracted by additional possibilities to make your answers look nice. Feel free to distribute any materials as long as you indicate the source. There is a separate post for A, B and C.

Hardware - laptop with screen disabled using Windows display settings, 27inch external monitor 1280x1080 connected via USB-C to HDMI converter

Software - Win10, Chrome browser. I created a new user account with user-only privileges (not administrator). But to start Lockdown Browser (Respondus v2.06.08 7 Aug 20), you need to enter administrator password when prompted. The only "problem" I encountered was that local copies (invigilator options in case of problems) were saved in the Downloads folder of the administrator account, not the user account.

General plus points:

• Repeatedly opening and closing browser (and rebooting) did not affect the editor window - it retained the answer. 
• Can open many tabs of assignments, zoom and search in them, allowing separate views of pages or parts of pages.
• Copy/paste from tab useful for words and phrases 
• PE: allows quick and intuitive highlighting of words & phrases in questions

General minus points:

• Separate participations passwords are needed for each part, provided by email. But once Lockdown Browser starts, you can no longer read e-mails or print. Make sure you have the right ones available on paper for the whole exam (for split exams, there will be more than one).
• Selection of specific text in tabs is sometime difficult - copy/paste frequently left pieces behind or copied too much. You waste time reformatting. I dont know if this is related to the pdf. 
• For D no highlighting. For pages only available on-screen, impossible to keep track of what you used or noticed. 
• Multiple tabs cannot be named or viewed side-by-side
• Bug 1: max of 9 additional tabs (in addition to main tab). If you open 11th tab (10th additional tab), browser freezes and PC must be rebooted. It is also possible to click (i) in browser, select "Proctor Exit", and then enter Invigilator Password to exit.
• Bug 2: with smaller screens (14 inch), tabs can be opened but not accessed as they are off screen. Max. 6 tabs visible on 14 inch screen. 
• Only one view of your answer available, so for long answers (D2) you may need to scroll around.

Tips - PE

• Print all the password emails before starting.
• Use flags for uncertain questions and a sticky note summarizing your uncertainty. 
• Use notepad to keep claims (or other text) visible during scrolling and/or moving between questions
• Dont use drawing options - highlighting and sticky notes are superior

Tips - ME D

• Print all the password emails before starting.
• Use separate online tabs for at least the non-printable pages. For D, can use 1 tab for each non-printable page. With a 27-inch screen, full page view is easily readable.
• If several tabs open, use (coloured) tabs on top edge of your monitor to indicate what each one is (Q or Page) so you can click quickly to what you want.
• It is tempting, but dont copy too much text from assignment to answer to make it nice. 
• For copy/paste in tabs, try selecting bottom up instead of top down before copying
• CTRL keys work in answer - C, V, B, U, I etc. "Shift+arrow" works for selection
• Dont waste time on nicely formatting your answer - use one header, use "-" and "1"etc instead of bullets and numbered lists, dont use font colors or text backgrounds (may be lost if text is converted further)
• Dont put tables in answer - can just use TAB for aligned lists. They want to see arguments and explanation, not a table for which the interpretation is subjective. 
• Make any analysis table/matrix/chart on paper - if you put in your answer, it will be slower, take up a lot of room (so you will have to scroll more). This is not getting any marks, so keep it brief and refer to paragraphs in the exam. 
• Dont use drawing or Latex appendices - these are included as images in your answer and take up a lot of room.
• Dont use drawing appendix for timelines - does not get marks, much slower than doing on paper.
• Use a template for each answer, and put the headings in your answer. This prevents you forgetting things and allows you to quickly navigate.
• Use one or two heading types in answer (Heading3 or Heading4) - this allows you to click on headings in Table of Contents to quickly jump (this worked the first time I used it, but when I went back the clicking did not work anymore).
• To reduce risk of copying wrong details to paper overviews, read assignment in tabs and select dates or facts (as if you were going to copy) before you not them so that you do not lose your place, making it easier to double check.
• You don't need complete sentences - answers can be given bullet-style to reduce scrolling.

Suggested improvements:

• Send one email with all participation passwords for a whole day in one e-mail
• PE: Separate languages, not all three. Fix Completed status. Allow unselection of T/F.
• PE: provide electronic version of assignment and calendars
• PE: allow resizing of notepad window
• ME: allow zooming of assignment preview
• D1 & D2: provide electronic version of calendars
• ME: allow highlighting of at least non-printable pages, preferably all pages
• ME: clarify what is expected with drawing & Latex appendices. Drawing is slow way of answering. Text boxes can be inserted with drawings, but this is very slow. Is this to be encouraged? Will these be accepted as part of the answer?
• ME: allow text-only appendices to be defined and inserted into answer. These would allow different sections of answer to be visible in different tabs.
• ME: make sure hyperlinks in Table of Contents work reliably

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e-EQE 2021 - major changes in the structure and content

The EPO has published a major update (2 Dec 2020) about how the exams on 1 March 2021 will be structured, and the parts that can be printed. No announcement yet of a demo of the exam portal, or any example papers to practice. 

Main points:

- the LockDown Browser will need to be downloaded and installed.
You will need Administrator rights. "Browser" is a bit misleading as it does disable a lot of functionality on your computer - it is more like a test portal. I hope the latest version will be available before exam day. I could not find a general demo. 

- Pre-Exam, C and D split into parts.
Not being able to go back and review earlier answers is a major restriction. To pass, you need to get at least 50 / 100 marks, so before there was some freedom to use time saved on some parts for others. Now, that freedom is reduced to each part. Some extra time is now given to compensate. 
If you realise during a later part that you forgot something in an earlier part, that can distract you and cause extra stress. You have to try and forget it, and concentrate of each part separately.

- Breaks in Pre-Exam, C and D. There is a break between parts, but you still need to be logged in 20 minutes before the next part starts and you may be printing things for the next part.
You will need some time earlier to check everything is working technically on your computer.
I assume during the 20 minutes, they will also ask you to do a room sweep with your webcam as you are likely to go to the toilet.
A maximum of 2 parts per paper would be much more manageable.

- Limited printing. No extra time has been given for this. No indication of how the files will be sent for printing.
We don't know whether multiple views of the same document and your answer will be possible in the test portal. In general, you need to have certain things side by side for comparison. Any claims needs to have a dedicated view or be on paper - interpretation can depend on a single feature or a particular word choice for a feature.
Doing all this on screen needs a lot of practice - it is not a trivial change. Unless you have a photographic memory, scrolling between different parts is pretty inefficient. Most candidates need to read and think about each sentence & word (everything could be important).
Also no annotation is possible of the non-printable parts (even if available, on-screen annotation is slower than paper annotation). 

CLICK BELOW FOR MORE ABOUT EACH PAPER

Predicting what the e-EQE will look like

[Updated 20.10.20] The UK PEB exams (this week) are the blueprint for e-EQE. Hopefully things run smoothly, and there are few IT issues. 

Based on PEBX detailed info and EPO e- EQE FAQ's, I have tried to fill in some unknowns. I am not in the organization, and have no insider tips, so treat this as my best guess. It will become clearer in the next months, so watch the EPO and epi websites carefully for more official details. EQE & PEB posts are also at The Yellow Sheet. 

If the EQE system is close to this, it is good news. The IT challenges for the organization seem manageable, so it is almost certain that e-EQE 2021 can go ahead.  

The bad news is the additional effort for candidates to get everything ready, and to become familiar with the digital tools and online editing. The test system is planned for Jan 2021 - if at least one mock exam can be tried, it will ease a lot of concerns.

Also, with any new processes, it may be difficult to distinguish between accidental rule breaches (loss of webcam signal, router reset, pc crash, internet failure) and deliberate ones. In such a case, candidates should collect as much direct evidence as possible to support their case. The PEB provides an email address to apply for Special Consideration by 12 noon on the day following the exam. No details yet on how the EQE will deal with this. 

1. Anywhere suitable - at home or work 

• PEB invigilation was by video conferencing (Zoom) At home, and by a designated contact at work. Each contact was registered, and had to declare (potential) conflicts of interest. PEB allowed more than one candidate per contact. 
• EQE has not clarified yet how they invigilate.

2. Hardware 

• PEB allowed a computer with one physical screen only. Either a laptop (no tablet), a PC with an office-standard monitor, or a laptop (screen off) with one external office-standard monitor. 
• EQE will also limit to one physical screen only.
• Broadband internet connection required for whole exam. 
• PEB only required a webcam for those at home - for initial sweep of desk & room (before exam), to check photo-ID (they also had copies of photo-ID's), and so that the invigilator can see you facing your screen during the exam. PEB allowed a built-in laptop webcam to be used. 
• PEB allowed full printing to a printer in same room. 
• EQE has said that you will only be able to print "parts" before the exam start - consideration will be given to ensuring the confidentiality of the questions while enabling candidates to work comfortably and ergonomically. Vague, but it sounds like they are modifying the papers to be more than just a single PDF document. My guess is that at least some drawings, annexes and the calendars will be printable. But this also makes them easier to take digitally. For comparison, the full EQE 2019 lengths were: Pre-Exam: 30p, A: 13p, B: 18p, C: 37p, D: 14p

3. Software

• PEB used a browser-based PEBX web portal to log in, to indicate that that you are starting, to digitally sign a declaration that you will not cheat, to download the paper PDF and a Word template for answers, and to allow a PDF answer to be uploaded up to the end of the exam. PEB required Word, a PDF viewer & PDF printer.
• EQE indicates a text editor will be provided in a locked browser window. The papers will be shown in a PDF viewer. Copy/paste will be available of text from the exam, or within your own answer. This seems similar to the Computer-Based (CB) EQE software used before, with browser-based text editor (left) and PDF viewer (right).
• EQE indicates Windows 7 or MacOS/X10.10, or higher with Administrator rights.
• PEB did not require Zoom to be installed - they used a browser version started from PEBX. I recommend installing the free desktop application anyway - if there is a problem, you can paste the link into Zoom itself.
• Some common problems with PEBX, such as the possibility that answers from an earlier test could be accidentally uploaded during the exam if the candidate had not deleted them. Also possible: If you see an error message that indicates your file has not uploaded, you may need to log out of the PEBX system and log back in and try uploading your answer document again. There is a View Document button which allows you to see what you have uploaded. 
• EQE will not require manual uploading (it uses online auto save), but no details on verification of what has been uploaded or whether you can make a copy/print of your own answers during the exam.

4. Timing

• PEB provided extra time for screen breaks (5 mins every hour), printing, scanning & uploading. So, 3 hrs 30m for a 3 hr exam, 4 hrs 40m for a 4 hr exam, 5hrs 45m for a 5hr exam. 
• PEB exam times were: 1000-1330, 1400-1730, 1000-1440 or 1000-1545. EQE times have not yet been announced, but the exams are now divided over 5 days.
• PEB screen breaks were not enforced, and candidates were allowed to decide when to upload their answer, but upload was no longer possible when exam ended. 
• EQE will use a text editor in a locked browser - no manual uploading required. No details yet on what happens at the end - the CB EQE software just stopped accepting inputs when the exam ended.
  

CLICK BELOW FOR MORE [Updated 20.10.20]