e-EQE 2021 Examiners' Reports available for the main exam papers

The Examiners' Reports are available for Paper A, for Paper B, for Paper C, and for Paper D!

The results (marks for candidates, pass rates and other statistics) are not yet available, neither publicly on the EQE website, nor via myEQE for individual candidates. It seems reasonable to expect that they will become available shortly (as in previous years, the results and the examiner's reports always became available shortly after each other; however, in previous years the results became available before the Examiners' Reports).

Update 21/6/2021: The results letter have been send to the candidates.

"The purpose of the present examiners' report is to enable candidates to prepare for future examinations (cf. Art. 6(6) of the Regulation on the European qualifying examination for professional representatives)."

The Examiner's Reports provide general comments to each of the papers, as well as the Possible Solutions for each and -for A, B and C- an indication of the marking.

The Examiner's Reports do not contain any comments as to the side-effects of the online format, nor whether that has somehow been reflected in the marking, except for the indication in the Examiners' Report of Paper C that: "The examination of 2021 was different from previous years in several aspects, the most important of which is that it was held online and that it was split in two parts. Technical aspects regarding the shift to an online exam are not part of this report".

Update 21/6/2021: The results letter send to candidates provides:

"Due to the technical issues that occurred during the first flow of part one of paper D of the electronic EQE of 2021, the Examination Board has decided to exceptionally neutralize this part of the examination. Therefore, the Examination Board has exceptionally awarded to all candidates full marks (25 marks) for the flow D1-1, which consisted of questions 1, 2 and 6."

The tables with marks attached to the results letters show the marks that were actually scored by the candidate (excluding the neutralization); the score shown in the letter itself includes the effect of the neutralization.  

Please be invited to provide your comments w.r.t. the Examiners’ Reports on our dedicated blogs for the various papers:

When commenting, please use your name or a nickname (you can choose to indicate a name at the header of the comment, or just put your (nock)name at the end of your comment), to facilitate a pleasant and efficient discussion.

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Roel is a European Patent Attorney and tutor at DeltaPatents.

Comments

  1. Anonymous23 June 2021 at 17:02

    Can I represent myself when filing an appeal? Or is representation required by a European patent attorney?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous23 June 2021 at 17:16

    Hi - I am also doubting the marking for paper C, and no you shouldn't get penalised for 2 attacks as long as it is credible and reasons for it. I had novelty and inventive step attack for claim 1 and it looks like novelty attack was marked.

    However, I'm struggling to understanding the marking for claims 4 and 5 despite having the proposed attacks as referred to in their solution. I'm going to examine it in detail and then if I don't think its right, I will appeal.

    Zen

    ReplyDelete
  3. Maria23 June 2021 at 17:22

    Dear Roel,

    I have a further question regarding appeals. I saw a very useful post on LinkedIn from Preston RICHARD: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/appeal-against-eqe-results-preston-richard/?trackingId=Sq1rDyfSRIqB0KLw04%2BuEA%3D%3D

    In this post he summarizes:
    "Because of the online exam for the first time, the DBA has not considered disturbance in the context of eEQE exam. However, according to normal practice, the Examination Board is supposed to react to your complaint and issue a provisional opinion, together with an invitation to comment (See Case Law on the Complaints about the conduct of the examination https://www.epo.org/law-practice/legal-texts/html/caselaw/2019/e/clr_v_c_2_6_6.htm).

    So, first, ask for such an opinion and how they considered your complaint and what measures were taken in your marking to rectify the situation."

    Do you think it is useful to ask for such opinion if a correct complaint was filed for the conduct of one or more of the papers?

    Thanks for you always insightful answers here on the blog :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Roel van Woudenberg24 June 2021 at 08:29

      The current Instructions to the candidates (OJ 2021, A13) provides:

      "11. If a candidate wants to file a complaint concerning the conduct of the
      pre-examination or the main examination, they must do so as soon as possible (at the latest by the end of the day on which the examination was taken) by emailing it together with a written statement of the facts to the Examination Secretariat (helpdesk@eqe.org)."

      Did you file a complaint on the day of the affected exam paper?

      Note that the cited section in the Case law Book, second paragraph, provides:

      "The corresponding provisions of R. 19(3) and (4) IPREE were considered in case D 3/10, in which the appellant had raised a complaint about disturbances during the examination only with the appeal. The DBA held that it would be inadmissible to examine the alleged disturbances in the context of an appeal without any prior decision of the Examination Board in this regard. By not submitting a complaint immediately after the examination, as foreseen by R. 19(3) IPREE, the appellant had deprived the Examination Board of the opportunity to determine the exact circumstances involved and to react accordingly, if necessary with a decision pursuant to R. 19(4) IPREE, or to deal with the allegations in its decision on the result of the examination under Art. 6(5) REE (cf. D 3/04)."

      I.e., the DBA held that it would be inadmissible to examine the alleged disturbances in the context of an appeal without any prior decision of the Examination Board with respect to a complaint filed by the candidate in accordance with the Instructions.

      If there were reasons why you could not have filed the complaint on the same day, but filed it as soon as you became aware of the reasons for such a complaint, I can imagine that the situation can be different (also not the "as soon as POSSIBLE" in the Instructions), provides that you did file the complaint as soon as you were able to.

      Delete
    2. Maria24 June 2021 at 08:51

      Yes I did file a formal complaint to EQE helpdesk regarding the conduct of Paper B on the day of that paper

      Delete
    3. Anonymous1 July 2021 at 15:54

      have you asked for a rely to your compaint?

      Delete
  4. Anonymous23 June 2021 at 17:22

    I would appeal. That's not right if they haven't marked it. 2 different novelty attacks is fine. They should mark it.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous23 June 2021 at 17:30

    Hi Roel - surely for paper C, the more attacks you have on claims the better. It makes no sense to penalised if you have one that they expected and one that is ok (may work). So if you have 2 novelty attacks (one works and one could almost work/ok) why would you get penalised for it. It makes no sense whatsoever to me if this is how they mark Paper C - the idea is to knock out the claim.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous23 June 2021 at 17:35

    I can completely understand if you have 2 inventive step attacks on a claim but having more than 1 novelty attacks against claim should not get penalised - it makes absolutely no sense. If one is slightly wrong, you have the other novelty attack to knock out the claim. In real life, people would do this and there is no problem with this. I would appeal John.

    ReplyDelete
  7. begi24 June 2021 at 11:00

    I also noticed that double punishment has been applied just because housefly eggs have been added and it did not feel right.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous24 June 2021 at 11:58

    Can anyone tell me why I would get penalised for having 2 novelty attacks on a claim in paper C. I got the right novelty attack according to their solution and the not so ideal novelty attack - I did provide reasoning. However, It doesn't makes any sense to me that you would be penalised for novelty attacks if you've got the right one. The whole idea is to knock out a claim so surely, if you think you've got more than 1 novelty attaack, you should go for it. It doesn't make sense that you are penalised for more than 1 novelty attack on a claim. If someone can clear this up then that would be good.

    I would absolutely understand (although I don't think zero marks is warranted) if I have two inventive step attacks as this suggests that you don't know the CPA.

    JJ

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous24 June 2021 at 12:03

      Think its been a common theme = Paper C marking this year sounds very harsh and borderline unfair given the circumstances. If my views are worth anything, I agree that if you have the right novelty attack, marks should be awarded. If you have another novelty attack (even if slightly wrong) or an inventive step attack, I don't believe you should be penalised for it. Like you said, it is an opposition and opponents will try to knock out the claim with as many attacks as possible, as long as the attacks do not conflict with each other. I fail to see how any conflict is possible with two novelty attacks from two different prior art documents. Obviously, by penalising candidates for the right attack, it seems to go against the whole ethos of the purpose of the paper. You shouldn't also be negatively marked.

      Joe

      Delete
    2. Anonymous24 June 2021 at 12:07

      I've got a siutaiton where I've got the right inventive step documents but argumentation is slightly wrong, however, I've provided other arguments that are reasonable with references as to why documents should be combined. should these alternative arguments be considered for the same marks.

      Delete
    3. Harsh24 June 2021 at 13:32

      Marking of paper C seems very unfair this year.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous24 June 2021 at 14:56

      I did not expect them to be harsh with marking because of online and 2-part complications and Covid-19.
      And when looking at my answer and marks I think they were quite lenient.

      But we will only know when the pass rates are known.

      Delete
  9. AG24 June 2021 at 12:42

    Is anyone appealing due to technical issues of WiseFlow (in my case it was a system crash when I tried to open 8 tabs leading to a loss of about 15mins, and of course panic, stress and confusion)? Just needed 2 more marks for a compensable fail.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous24 June 2021 at 13:22

      Planning on doing just that as I had something similar. I couldn't log onto wiseflow at the start so started late.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous24 June 2021 at 14:59

      See comments above from Roel van Woudenberg 24 June 2021 at 08:29:

      did you file a complaint?

      M

      Delete
    3. AG24 June 2021 at 17:31

      Thanks. Yes, I did file a complaint through email on the same evening of paper B.

      Delete
  10. Gilman24 June 2021 at 12:44

    I passed, 78% on Paper A, which was the last exam I had to sit. Phew, just happy to have this done and never to have to sit another exam ever again hopefully in my life.

    Sad to see the problems people had with B and C above, all I can say is it hopefully won't be so bad next year. The EPO really should have offered more considering that they were quite generous to those sitting D.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous24 June 2021 at 13:30

    (2) Notice of appeal including the statement setting out the grounds for appeal must be filed in writing with the Secretariat within one month of the date of notification of the decision appealed against. Notice of appeal shall not be deemed to have been filed until the fee for appeal specified pursuant to Article 17 has been paid within the period of one month specified above.

    In practice, how does this work. Do you just email exam sect and how do you pay the Appeal fee to the EPO?

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous24 June 2021 at 15:02

    Agree. But I passed A, C and D, so only more Wiseflow for B next year! Hope they improve it very significantly

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous24 June 2021 at 19:15

    I also think that double penalty has been applied in paper B because the housefly eggs are added into two independent claims, and it does not feel right. Because, once you decided to add a feature, you have to stick your decision in order to be consistent. - BG

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hendrik25 June 2021 at 12:12

    Dear all: When can we expect that an opinion regarding a complaint due to technical issues will be issued? I filed my complaint in time right after the end of the C paper exam because I was blocked during that exam due to having alledgedly pressed a mouse button too long. Is it correct that having filed a complaint entitles one to a decision from the Examination Board? Hoping that my questions are of interest for others as well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous25 June 2021 at 13:05

      Why do you not check with the EQE Secretariat?
      (I cannot do so as I did not file a complaint myself)

      Delete
    2. Hendrik25 June 2021 at 13:12

      I did ask the HelpDesk and they merely informed my that all complaints were considered and that the marking was conducted generously in all cases. If I were not satisfied I should file a regular appeal. But, as cited above, an appeal against e. g. technical issues requires a decision from the Examination Board. That is why I took the liberty to ask my questions.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous25 June 2021 at 13:33

      You only have 1 month to file an appeal against your exam results. That decision is taken by the Examination Board. I suggest that you assume that they have considered your complaint (after all, you submitted that on the day of the exam so they must have considered it when they decided, see also the "Notice from the Examination Secretariat concerning the conduct of the EQE 2021"), and that they decided on it as part of the decision on your results, as they cannot take the mark decision without having considered the complaint..
      So, if you want to appeal, do it within the one month! If you are later, you are too late.
      If you fike your appeal, the Examination Board will first check whether they need to do interlocutory revision. If you refer to your earlier complaint and they did not consider that, I assume they will need to consider it as part of their interlocutory revision proceedings.
      In my view, if the DBA needs an explicit decision on the complaint, they will need to wait for that before they give their decision - but you cannot postpone your filing of the appeal!

      Delete
    4. Hendrik25 June 2021 at 13:45

      Thank you "Anonymous 25 June 2021 at 13:33". I will then consider if it is still worth filing an appeal in my individual case. Though I still believe that being blocked by an alogrithm without having the chance to contact an invigilator is not good practice. Who knows if the algorithm is working properly in all instances?

      Delete
    5. Anonymous5 July 2021 at 11:05

      This is the reply I got from exam commmittee:

      On behalf of the Examination Board please be informed as follows:

      “Your complaint had been taken into account by the Examination Board before taking the decision on paper x. The Examination Board considered that the distraction was very regrettable, but it could not justify increasing the obtained marks. Moreover, the Examination Board cannot make any change on the decision communicated on 21 June 2021, which can only be set aside by the Disciplinary Board of Appeal in appeal proceedings.”

      Delete
  15. Anonymous27 June 2021 at 15:39

    Nobody knows. AI algorithms are black boxes that are trained to achieve some effect but the resulting algorithm is not known, and it is not know what it may all trigger on. As many unexpected things happened during the mocks and the exams, the training set cannot be a true reflection of the true situation and hence its results unpredictable.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous29 June 2021 at 09:32

    Does anybody know when the full results and statistics will be published this year? (They're normally sometime in July I think?)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Roel van Woudenberg29 June 2021 at 17:19

    https://www.epo.org/applying/online-services/representatives/request.html:

    "Request for entry on the list of professional representatives before the EPO

    Successful candidates of the 2021 European qualifying examination wishing to file a request for entry on the list of professional representative have now been flagged on the flow "Professional Representatives Entry Request" created in WISEflow by the EPO.

    The first flow start date is 29 June 2021 at 10.00 hrs and ends on 6 July 2021 at 22.00 hrs.
    New flows will be rolled out constantly within the next weeks for those who would like to file their request at a later date. These candidates will be flagged until they have applied or further notice is given.
    Before filing your request, please read the information in FAQ carefully (https://www.epo.org/applying/online-services/representatives/request/faq.html)

    To start the electronic request log in with your credentials (as for the EQE) here (https://europe.wiseflow.net/)

    If you need new WISEflow credentials (e.g. your email address is not valid anymore), kindly contact the EPO Legal Division legaldivision@epo.org.

    Please note that the following documents (supported file formats: PDF, JPG, GIF, PNG) will be required to be uploaded via WISEflow:

    - Certified copy of a valid passport or identity card (not a driving licence). - Official certification may be provided by an authority of a Contracting State, an attorney-at-law or a solicitor (insofar as he/she is entitled to under the applicable law) or a professional representative before the EPO
    - If your name has changed since you took the European qualifying examination: evidence (e.g. certified copy of marriage certificate)
    - Recent certification from your employer as proof of place of business/employment or proof of place of business (for self-employed)
    - EQE certificate
    - Handwritten signature in one of the above-mentioned formats on blank paper
    - If you have oral proceedings scheduled: copy of the summons

    Due to the current pandemic and related restrictions in place at the EPO - processing of paper requests might be considerably delayed. If you depend on a timely entry, we advise using the new electronic request."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous29 June 2021 at 19:22

      I'm currently job hunting. It looks like I cannot request entry until I am employed again, then, doesn't it?

      Delete
    2. Eli + Roman1 July 2021 at 11:19

      And Wiseflow strikes again.

      I handed in all required documents for the registration, but some of the blank entry fields were not displayed to me, so I did not fill them. Wiseflow did not give any warnings and now I cannot reopen the flow. I hope they are smart enough to extract the missing data from the provided documents.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous1 July 2021 at 12:38

      I had problems uploading the documents as PDF. Had to reformat one PDF as PNG to get it uploaded. Hope everythink will be fine...no further notice if something is missing in wiseflow is not appropriate.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous2 July 2021 at 15:51

      Eli + Roman and Anonymous: send your experiences to the EQE secretariat and complain about again Wiseflow issues. Relying on someone noticing it by him/herself may be a risk.

      Delete
    5. Eli + Roman5 July 2021 at 16:59

      I did and they reacted swiftly by telling me my registration number 😃.

      Delete
  18. Marvin Fustemberg30 June 2021 at 12:54

    Hi, what is it meant with "EQE certificate"? The Result letter?

    Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unknown30 June 2021 at 13:40

      "EQE certificate" has been changed to "EQE result letter" on https://www.epo.org/applying/online-services/representatives/request.html

      Delete
  19. Anonymous1 July 2021 at 14:21

    Wiseflow is just shambolic. Why are they using this software again for future exams. It is the most unpopular and universally hated software from all candidates. Keep things simple! Wiseflow is NOT.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous1 July 2021 at 14:23

      pretty useless formatting for exams as well especially for the practical papers like papers A, B and C. I had so many problems with this software. It boils down too whether you can cope with using wiseflow on the day rather than passing the exams itself. IT/software should not be a factor for you passing the exams but that is what the EPO exams have and will now become unless they make major changes.

      Delete
  20. Anonymous1 July 2021 at 15:36

    I got 42 on paper B. I am quite sure I lost a few marks thanks to the wise flow as I lost 20 mins just copying and formatting the client's claim set. Is an appeal worth it in order to get to 45 marks? I have above 55 on all other papers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. HF1 July 2021 at 15:44

      Next year I would recommend copying the original claim set.

      I can't give you any recommendation on the appeal though.

      Delete
  21. Anonymous1 July 2021 at 15:56

    of course you can represent yourself! or are you living outside the EPC /are non EPC citizen?

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous1 July 2021 at 16:05

    I failed paper D with 42. Am I the only one to have failed D.
    I did not complain but now I see the consequences of their camera system not working and not enabling connection the first 15 minutes.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous1 July 2021 at 16:10

    how to appeal against you EQE results has appeared here: https://kandidatentreff.de/2021/06/how-to-appeal-against-your-eqe-results/

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous2 July 2021 at 22:26

    Still no statistics from the EPO?

    ReplyDelete
  25. Alex4 July 2021 at 12:16

    When can we expect the translations of the Examiners' reports of papers A-D?

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous5 July 2021 at 11:14

    I am really confused and in need of help. I failed B and C with 42 and 41 points. I think I could have got beyond 45 points if it were not for the Wiseflow browser. The EQE committe has confirmed wiseflow will be used again in 2022. So I cannot see how my fortune may change next year. Is it worthwhile to wait until 2023 to sit the exam when many other changes will have taken place?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous5 July 2021 at 22:19

      If you can afford the fee, I would appeal. They need to take individual considerations into account and there is no evidence of that.

      Delete
  27. Anonymous5 July 2021 at 14:38

    Does anyone know if there is a possibilty to inspect a corrected version of the individual examination papers or the evaluation sheets of the examiners in order to understand the mistakes made or the points deducted?
    This would be very helpful when drafting an appeal.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous6 July 2021 at 08:59

      The following answer was given by the Examination Secretariat:

      "Alle Informationen zur Benotung Ihrer Antwort stehen Ihnen unter myEQE zur Verfügung, mit Ihrem Ergebnisbrief, den Einzelheiten zur Notenvergabe auf der Rückseite sowie Ihren Prüfungsantworten.

      Darüber hinaus gibt es keine weiteren detaillierteren Informationen oder andere Dokumente."

      That means no.

      Delete
    2. Marker6 July 2021 at 22:04

      From the examiner report you should be able to understand where you lost marks.
      For paper a this is quite straightforward to understand.

      Delete
  28. Anonymous5 July 2021 at 22:09

    How do you pay the appeal fee. Is there an online EQE portal where you can pay?

    ReplyDelete
  29. Anonymous5 July 2021 at 22:17

    I think it's by bank transfer but not sure how you are meant to set a bank transfer with the EPO.

    Does anyone know or have experience. Delta Patents, do you know?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous6 July 2021 at 09:03

      https://www.epo.org/law-practice/legal-texts/official-journal/2014/02/a28.html

      Delete
    2. Anonymous6 July 2021 at 16:27

      Same as how you paid the fees when you enrolled:

      https://www.epo.org/learning/eqe/enrolment.html:

      Fees
      Please note that the fees relating to the EQE may only be paid by credit card or bank transfer. Candidates are strongly recommended to use a credit card as their method of payment as this will ensure swift payment. If the prescribed fees are not validly paid, the application for enrolment will be deemed not to have been filed. Candidates are reminded of the strict application of the closing dates for enrolment. Articles 121 and 122 EPC do not apply. As bank transfers are prone to delays they are therefore not recommended as payment method shortly before the relevant deadline. Fees may not be paid by debiting an EPO deposit account.

      OJ 2019, A98 on https://www.epo.org/law-practice/legal-texts/official-journal/2019/11/a98.html

      If you are still uncertain, call the EQE secretariat!

      Delete
  30. Anonymous6 July 2021 at 14:26

    Statistics for 2021 have been published...

    http://documents.epo.org/projects/babylon/eponot.nsf/0/87C0F821000A41F5C125870A0041927C/$File/statistics_eqe_2021_en.pdf

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous6 July 2021 at 15:10

      At 85.87% pass for D, with a further 5.89% getting a compensable fail, this is by far the highest pass rate for D in recent times {2015: 53.84% pass, 10.98% compensable fail}, if not indeed EVER.

      Delete
  31. Anonymous6 July 2021 at 15:51

    Statistics are now available:
    http://documents.epo.org/projects/babylon/eponot.nsf/0/87C0F821000A41F5C125870A0041927C/$File/statistics_eqe_2021_en.pdf

    D pass rate much higher than normal due to the 25 free marks. Other pass rates seem similar to 2019.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Roel van Woudenberg6 July 2021 at 16:20

    The statistcis are discussed on our separate blog post:

    http://eqe-deltapatents.blogspot.com/2021/07/eqe-2021-statistics-are-out.html

    Please feel invited to post your comments there.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Anna7 July 2021 at 12:39

    C marking is really off somehow. I don't understand how they can deduct half of the points due to slightly lacking justification on how a tank is a vessel. Also, as I was for some reason (no explanation was given) kicked out of wiseflow for over half an hour in the middle of C1 (which then lead to a stress migraine and complete failure at C2), it looks to me as some of my answers were not saved in the form I remember writing them. An older colleague said that there's no point appealing, as I'd have to sit 2022 C in any case because the appeal outcome wouldn't be known in time...

    ReplyDelete

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