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.

EQE 2022 - which legal texts to use?

 

17 Dec 21: this post has been updated here.

There are no details yet on which digital references will be allowed or available during the exam. So, you may still need to print your references just before the exam.

During EQE 2021, External References were available for digital reading and searching, but were limited to the EPO website only. These were the original versions of the references, and no annotation or highlighting was possible. Copy/paste was available from the

references. No details yet on what will be available in 2022.

Answers for the Main and Pre-Exam will be accepted based on legal texts valid on 31 Oct 2021 - REE (OJ SE2, 2019) Art. 13(1)(c), Rule 2 (this is still the old REE - it is likely to be updated this year. There was already an updated Instructions to Candidates - OJ 2021, A13).

I will be updating all my EQE-specific study materials to provide versions valid on 31 Oct 2021. Hopefully, many of the references will be made available digitally during the exam, so that this set can be minimised.  

The EPO-EPC and EPO-PCT Guidelines have moved to a new revision cycle, namely 1 March each year. If the EPO website is available again during the exams as an External Reference, the 1 Mar 2022 versions will be the versions in force and available digitally. The 1 Mar 2021 versions will only be

available on-line in the EPO-EPC Guidelines Archive and EPO-PCT Guidelines Archive as PDF's.

During EQE 2021, the exam committees were pragmatic and flexible about what they would accept to support an answer - either the official versions (valid on 31 Oct before the exam), or newer versions available digitally through External References.

General recommended:

• For EQE 20xx, use the legal texts and documents valid on 31 Oct 20xx-1
• As a practicing (trainee) attorney, you should always be aware of the most up-to-date materials. If you use versions made available after 31 Oct 20xx-1 to answer questions, you will not be penalised. 
• But be pragmatic and don't just print out a lot of books or buy new ones. It is better to update older versions yourself by going through the changes in detail. The EPO provides some track changes versions and the WIPO usually uses change bars.
• Only transfer a lot of notes and annotations to a new version if you are using very old materials.
• If you do not use an "official version" during the exam, make a note once in each EQE exam of the Guidelines version you use. It is not required, but it makes it easier for the marker.

Summary for Main and Pre-Exam EQE 2022: 

• They will officially accept answers based on legal texts & documents in force on 31 Oct 2021
• They will also accept answers based on legal texts & documents in force after 31 Oct 2021 (including any updated EPO & EPO-PCT Guidelines version 1 Mar 22)
• Recommended for EQE 2022:
• look through the most important EPO & EPO-PCT Guidelines changes in Feb 2022 - the EPO usually provides a track changes version
• many of these changes will be based on Case Law, OJ EPO notices and practice changes that were already known in 2021, but missed the update one year earlier. 
• update the 1 Mar 2021 versions of the Guidelines yourself

CLICK BELOW for the background and explanations: 

EQE 2021 - which legal texts to use?

** 1 Jun 21: obsolete. See newer post from 3 Jun 2022.

** 20 Sep 20: updated to clarify  differences with Pre-Exam,  and to add new Guidelines cycle **

To remove one worry for candidates, answers for the Main Exam will be accepted based on legal texts valid on 31 Oct 2019 (official date for EQE 2020) and/or 31 Oct 2020 (official date for EQE 2021). 

This is a welcome flexibility, but candidates still need to choose what to use and what to update. This has always been an issue, but it will be more complicated this year. I get asked this often 😕, so I will try and explain it. See also this earlier post regarding the situation for EQE 2020.

I will be updating all my EQE-specific study materials to provide versions valid on 31 Oct 2020.  If new EPO & EPO-PCT Guidelines do appear, then I will also make new versions available at the end of Nov 2020. However, based on the EPO announcements and SACEPO minutes, it looks like the Guidelines will move to a new revision cycle from 2021, namely 1 March. 

General recommendations:

• Don't worry too much - because "recent changes" are blurred, the exam committees are pragmatic and flexible about what they accept in the answer - either the official versions for that exam, or newer ones. Very little of the exam anyway is based on such changes.
• For EQE 20xx, use the legal texts and documents valid on 31 Oct 20xx-1
• but also use the latest version of the Guidelines available in 20xx-1. As a practicing attorney, you should always be aware of the most up-to-date materials. If you use versions made available after 31 Oct 20xx-1 to answer questions, you will not be penalised. In some cases, it may match the 31 Oct 20xx-1 materials more closely.
• But be pragmatic and don't just print out a lot of books or buy new ones. It is better to update older versions yourself by going through the changes in detail. The EPO provides some track changes versions and the WIPO usually uses change bars.
• Only transfer a lot of notes and annotations to a new version if you are using very old materials.
• If you do not use an "official version" during the exam, make a note once in each EQE paper of the Guidelines version you use. It is not required, but it makes it easier for the marker.

Summary for Main Exam EQE 2021:

• They will officially accept answers based on legal texts & documents in force on:
• 31 Oct 2019 (including EPO & EPO-PCT Guidelines version 1 Nov 2018)
• 31 Oct 2020 (including EPO & EPO-PCT Guidelines version 1 Nov 2019)
• They will also accept answers based on legal texts & documents in force:
• after 31 Oct 2020 (including any updated EPO & EPO-PCT Guidelines version 1 Nov 2020, if available)

• Recommended for EQE 2021, use the legal texts and documents valid on 31 Oct 2020,
• and the latest version of the EPO & EPO-PCT Guidelines available (1 Nov 2020 if available, or 1 Nov 2019). Don't use the earlier versions.

See below for the background and explanations:

Suggested books & things to take to Main & Pre-Exam - EQE 2020

Preparation:
- Check the exam times and plan to arrive early
- Since EQE 2017, an additional 30 minutes has been given for papers A, B, C and D (REE OJ 2019 SE2 - page 41) to help candidates who do not have English, French or German as their mother language. The papers are designed to be made in the official REE duration (e.g. 5 hours for C and D) but an extra 30 minutes is given to make it at the exam (e.g. 5.5 hours for C and D).
- Read through the rules regarding the conduct of the exam (REE OJ 2019 SE2 - page 36-40). See the warning here about possible problems.
- See here what candidates said last year about the location where you are taking the exam
- Be well rested in the days before the exam - many D candidates sleep badly on Monday night
- Take a suitcase with wheels, and limit the books to ones you have used in the last 6 months of your preparation
- For the A & B papers, if you need more practice, do the Mock A (Examiners' Report) and Mock B (Examiners' Report) for additional practice. There is also a video explaining the philosophy behind the combined technology papers which were given for the first time at EQE 2017.
- From EQE 2020 onwards, no opposition form will be supplied with Paper C, and no form should be handed in with your answer. Elements which used to be explicitly required in the form to ensure admissibility (complying with A.99, A.100 and R.76 EPC) should be included in your answer on a sheet of EQE paper.
- For the D paper, the marks available for DII (used to be 60 marks) will be reduced from EQE 2020 onwards (epi information 4/18 - pages 25). It may be different each year - check before you start by looking on the front page of the exam. Expect either 50:50 or even 60 DI:40 DII.
- They are now more critical when awarding full marks for the legal citation (legal basis) in DI. See here for some rules of thumb for optimising marks for legal basis.
- If you need a little help on DII, this presentation provides a basic methodology and some explanation of what they are looking for
- After doing the papers of 2019, look at the Tutors' Report to help with interpreting the EQE Compendium (epi information 4/19 - pages 40-52)
- If necessary, look here for some tips for reducing anxiety at the exam
- Be prepared to do the exams with a relatively small (possible as small as 60cm x 90cm) space. Normally, you can place books you don't need under the table.
- Look through the EQE Study Guide for other tips

Updated: 23 Feb 2020 with link to EPC & PCT changes

EQE Paper D: optimise your marks for legal basis

Many candidates waste time perfecting and double-checking each legal basis. This is a poor strategy - a lot of marks are also available for correctly solving the legal problems, for explaining (arguing) how you have applied the law, and for the legal advice part. In many cases, an alternative will be accepted, even if it is a "lower" legal source.

It is much more efficient to understand the basic principles of what is required and what is typically accepted, and then be pragmatic. You should then note the best citations you find as you consult your notes and books when answering. If you think you are missing something, make a note and come back at the end if you have time left.

(1) Recognise and note expected citations: although different sources may be cited (and are always considered for marks), the markers are mainly looking for references to the documents listed in IPREE Rule 2 & 22(1) (latest version: OJEPO 2019, SE2 - see below for the syllabus provisions). Make sure you are familiar with the contents of these resources.

(2) Recognise and note the most important citations: hierarchically, Articles, Rules, & G-decisions are the most important, and the most likely to get marks. Whenever you notice one of these, ALWAYS note it next to the argument being made.

(3) Learn the most frequently required provisions by heart: if you can cite these without looking them up, you can quickly score marks. These are the most frequent subjects of the legal questions, and can be found in the D Examiner's Reports of the last 10 years. Additional tip: tab these provisions in your reference books as there is a good chance you will need them.

• EPC: A.14, R.3, R.6, R.157(2) | A.54(2), A.54(3) | A.65 | A.76, R.36 | A.87(1), A.87(4) | A.99(1), A.100, R.76(2), R.84(2) | A.108 | A.114(1), A.114(2) | A.121, R.135 | A.122, R.136 | A.123(2) | A.133, R.151 | A.141, R.51(1) | R.40 | R.45 | R.70(1) | R.114 | R.116 | R.126(2) | R.131(4), R.134(1) | R.137(5) | R.139 | Rfees 2(1)
• Euro-PCT: A.153(7) | R.159(1), R.160 | R.164
• PC: A.4C
• PCT: A.8(1), R.4.10(a) | A.11(1) | R.19 | R.54bis | R.80.2, R.80.5 | R.90 | R.90bis

(4) Note the sources actually used: your answer should be explaining to the marker how you get to your conclusions. So if you apply principles from any "lower" resource such as EPO Guidelines, Case Law, OJEPO etc, cite any relevant Article, Rules, BoA decisions, AND the source reference. 

(5) Note the legal principle that you are applying: in general, rules are required more often than Articles - this is because they implement the legal principles found in the Articles. "Empty Articles", such as A.80 EPC or A.120 EPC are not required for full marks.

(6) Stop citing when the number of citations matches the number of marks: as a general rule of thumb, a statement is required with a supporting legal basis citation for each mark. So an 8 mark question requires approx. 8 citations for full marks.

(7) Cite alternative sources and unexpected documents when relevant: if you have nothing better quickly available, cite it. The marker will consider it, and use discretion. For example, a Guideline reference summarising a BoA decision is usually accepted instead the decision number. Using an exact word or phrase from a legal provision or case law (such as "accompanying person") may also be accepted as proof of the correct legal basis.

(8) Be aware that many PCT resources are not expected: the only PCT Guideline expected is GL/PCT-EPO (added in 2017 to IPREE Rule 22(1)). EQE 2019 was the first D Paper where a citation was expected for full marks. Unfortunately, these EPO-PCT Guidelines are not sufficient on their own for preparation or answering at the Exam - it is not complete (it does not cover EP entry at all), and in many sections, it just refers to parts of other documents. You should still know this document in detail - it contains relevant information about EPO policies under PCT, and identifies further PCT-related subjects, such as PCT-Direct or PPH, which may be asked in the D Paper.

(9) ... but still use the other PCT resources to answer questions: and cite when relevant. Applicant's Guide AG-IP & AG-NP and Euro-PCT Guide (EPG) are much more useful for studying and answering at the Exam. But, when answering with these "alternative sources", cite any relevant Article, Rules, BoA decisions, as well as the source actually used to answer.

(10) leave a comment below with your tip #10

Click for the relevant REE legal provisions