Friday, November 08, 2024 PCT Applicant’s Guide for EQE 2025

In order to assist candidates in the preparation of training materials for the EQE for prospective European patent attorneys or for EPAC for patent administrators, the International Bureau of WIPO, with the agreement of the Examination Board for the EQE and the EPAC Board, has -as in the previous few years- made available a special edition of the PCT Applicant's Guide containing individual annexes and the introductions to the International Phase and the National Phase as a new web-application, as of 31 October 2024.

Last year, this so-called EQE edition of the eGuide was available for candidates during the exam, as were the EPO legal texts (see EQE FAQ on legal texts).

This EQE edition of the eGuide is available here.

Sunday, October 27, 2024 Meeting with Exam Committees - Questions asked by DeltaPatents

On 22 and 23 October 2024, the 2024-edition of the annual meeting between the Exam Committees and EQE-tutors took place. Of course, several of the DeltaPatents tutors were present to hear what the Committees had to say about the 2024 papers and the New EQE.

Questions could be submitted in advance, until 1 October 2024, via a dedicated form available on the webpage of the event Annual meeting of EQE tutors and members of the EQE committees. Both Roel and I submitted questions to the Exam Committees. Some were answered, others were not or just partly. We think it’s worthwhile to share our questions with others, in particular with other tutors. Therefore, you can find our questions below. Your comments are welcome!

Below you find:

• Questions Foundation paper / F Mock July 2024
• Questions A 2024
• Questions C 2024
• Questions D 2024

Saturday, July 27, 2024 Dates EQE 2026 have been published

The dates of the EQE 2026 papers -a mix of “old” and “new” EQE papers, have been published on the EQE website as "Dates for the EQE 2026":

The scheduling of D and M2 on the same date suggests that Art. 27(2)(c) New REE ("(c) For the 2026 examination only, candidates may choose to sit part 1 of paper D under the Regulation of 2009 instead of paper M2.") is implemented by offering the same paper as the D1 paper (Rule 26(1)-(2) Old IPREE) and the M2 paper (Rule 24 New IPREE).

Friday, July 05, 2024 EPO-epi publication "EQE Guide for preparation" (June 2024) available

The EQE Guide for preparation, June 2024, is available on the EPO website since yesterday (here).

This guide is prepared by the EPO in cooperation with epi. This publication on the new EQE is oriented towards candidates, providing information and advice on how to prepare for papers F to M4 over three years, building on the guiding principles that govern the new EQE. It informs candidates about how to prepare in general by providing a thorough understanding of the EQE format; tips on the best order in which to tackle the subject matter; an indication of how much time may be required for each step; and lists of other training material and courses (our courses here).

Note that the guide indicates on page 3: "Written to support preparation for the EQE, it does not represent the views of the EQE Supervisory Board, Examination Board or any of the committees. Please also note that the guide does not replace official publications relating to EQE regulations like the REE and the IPREE."

For more information:

• EQE website
• the REE and IPREE for the New EQE (OJ Suppl 3/2024)
• Our earlier blogs on the New EQE: here, here, and here
• Information from epi: "Navigating the EQE format changes with epi"
• Our courses are listed and described on our EQE course overview page;
• Our training material is available from our webshop (e.g., L-book, D-book, Topic-Related Index, References to the EPC, Cross-Referenced PCT)

Photo from the EPO webpage on the EQE Guide (no changes made).

Monday, July 01, 2024 EQE 2024 main exam papers are out (in the EQC Portal)!

The EQE 2024 results are available in the EQC Portal since the second half of this morning.

Congratulations to all that passed one or more papers!

The Examiners' Reports are not yet available (@11:30), but are usually published on the same day or the next.
Update: The Examiners' Reports became available later on the day on the EQE Compendium webpages\

Update: the Statistics were published in the middle of July: see here.

Wednesday, June 26, 2024 REMINDER: EQE 2024 results will be available in July 2024

As candidates keep asking when the results come out, please refer to our earlier blog post of Wednesday, October 11, 2023, "EQE 2024: results will be available in July 2024" (link).

We do not have more detailed information, so it may be early, mid or late July.

Update 1 July 11:34: I just received several emails from candidates informing me that the EQE 2024 results are now available in the EQC Portal . Congratulations to all that passed one or more papers!

Monday, April 29, 2024 2024 editions of "Topic-Related Index to the EPC and PCT" and "The Cross-Referenced PCT"

The 2024 editions of the books "Topic-Related Index to the EPC and PCT – Quick Reference for Daily Practice, EQE and EPAC" (T-RI) and "The Cross-Referenced Patent Cooperation Treaty" (Xref-PCT), by Cees Mulder and me, are now available from the DeltaPatents' webshop.

Both books have been updated taking account of the latest developments in the law. The T-RI book was already extended with references to the main provisions relating to the European patent with unitary effect (‘Unitary Patent’) and the Unified Patent Court in the 2023 edition, and has now been further extended with references to the Regulation on Discipline and epi's Code of Conduct have been added in view of changes made to the syllabus for the main exam paper of the New EQE.

Special offer: 20% off the total price when buying both books in a single purchase! 

For more information and ordering: DeltaPatents' webshop.