Enrolment for EPAC 2022 exam open (Until 30 Sep 2022)

Today, enrolment for the first EPAC exam, which will take place online on 12 December 2022, has opened. Enrolment closes on 30 September 2022. See the News message on the EPO website here. For our course offer, see here.

The News messsage provides (cited without changes, but emphasis added):

EPO announced the first EPAC exam

Yesterday, it was announced that the EPO introduces a new certification scheme for patent administrators: EPAC.

The News message indicates:

"The EPO has developed a new certification: the European patent administration certification (EPAC). Designed for paralegals, patent administrators and formalities officers, the EPAC will equip professionals with the knowledge and skills to manage filing, prosecution, grant and maintenance associated processes for European and international patent applications before the EPO. Enrolment begins in September, with the first exam planned on 12 December 2022.

European patent system users have increasingly suggested the convenience of a certification scheme for paralegals and administrative staff working in intellectual property rights. While training and certification opportunities exist in a limited number of countries, demand at the European level is growing. To address these needs, the EPO developed the EPAC, offering tailor-made training in dedicated courses and providing a new high-quality certification.  

The examination focuses on procedural aspects under the European Patent Convention (EPC), the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) and the Paris Convention. It also covers national laws and other agreements applicable to European patents and patent applications, including the London Agreement. Candidates will answer questions on the various patenting routes, application procedures and the procedural, administrative and formalities-related tasks involved."

Preparation for EPAC 2022

DeltaPatents will offer a course covering the EPAC syllabus for candidates that plan to sit EPAC 2022.

DeltaPatents has been offering a similar course to candidates preparing for the national formalities exam in the Netherlands, which also covers the EPC and PCT with essentially the same scope, for many years already. We are therefore able to provide a course to prepare for EPAC 2022 despite the very short notice of the new exam. The course is designed for and directed to paralegals, patent administrators and formalities officers.

The course will consist of a series of 12, ~weekly, half-day online sessions, with interactive presentations and homework by which candidates can further develop their knowledge, understanding and skill. Candidates well need to have sufficient time available to make the homework to benefit optimally from the course. By providing the sessions in an (approximate) weekly rhythm in Q3-Q4 2022, participants get into a steady study mode. By using half-day sessions, participants are able to pay attention full-time while also keeping the amount of new information per session under control. By using an online format, participants can task part from all over Europe - or even outside. The last two sessions will be scheduled in between the Mock and the real exam.

Our detailed course offering is provided on our website: please refer to our EPAC course page and the brochure on that page our detailed announcement and enrollment to the course.

We also offer a variety of books in our webshop that EPAC candidates may find useful. In particular:

• "References to the European Patent Convention" by Jelle Hoekstra
• "The Cross-Referenced Patent Cooperation Treaty" by Cees Mulder
• "Topic-Related Index to the EPC and PCT" by Cees Mulder and Roel van Woudenberg

Resived Rules of Procedure of the Boards of Appeal in force from 1 January 2020

On 4 July 2019, a communication was posted  the Board of Appeal website indicating that the revised Rules of Procedure were approved by the Administrative Council and will come into force on 1 January 2020. 

EPO online consultation on increased flexibility in the timing of the examination process (until 11 January 2019)

[Cited, with some adaptations, from the EPO News webpage at link]

Send your feedback to the EPO: online consultation on increased flexibility in the timing of the examination process

19 November 2018

The EPO has launched an online user consultation on the need for more flexibility in the timing of the examination process by giving applicants the possibility of postponing the examination of European patent applications. 

In recent years the EPO has introduced a number of measures to speed up the patent grant procedure through its Early Certainty initiative, and this has been welcomed by applicants and the public as it provides information about the scope of patent protection at an earlier stage. As a result, nowadays 99% of published patent applications are accompanied by their search report including a written opinion on their patentability (it was 90% in 2012).

At the same time it has also been argued that in some instances applicants might need more time before the grant of a patent as it would better suit with the development and innovation cycle of their products. This is why the Office looked for ways to inject some more flexibility in the examination phase, in order to address the various needs of the users. Discussions on the possibility to postpone the examination started with multiple stakeholders and user associations in 2017.

The EPO is now inviting all stakeholders to provide their views on the introduction of a postponed examination scheme in the European patent grant procedure, and on other possible measures to increase flexibility in the examination process.

User feedback plays a key role in helping us to enhance the quality and effectiveness of our processes and services. We welcome your input.

The user consultation runs until 11 January 2019.

Further information

• Online consultation (link)

Revised draft of the Rules of Procedure of the Boards of Appeal for the User consultation conference on 5 December 2018

[from EPO Board of Appeal webpage at link news message and link conference; see also revised draft RPBA,

Revised draft of the Rules of Procedure of the Boards of Appeal

The revised draft of the Rules of Procedure of the Boards of Appeal (RPBA) agreed upon by Boards of Appeal Committee (BOAC) and the President of the Boards of Appeal is now available in English.

This revised draft of the RPBA will provide the basis for the User consultation conference on 5 December 2018. At the conference, users of the European patent system will have the opportunity to hear presentations by members of the Boards of Appeal on the revised draft, followed by panel discussions by members of the Boards of Appeal Committee, the Boards of Appeal and representatives of user associations.

User consultation conference on the Rules of Procedure of the Boards of Appeal

5 December 2018
Munich, Germany

The revision of the Rules of Procedure of the Boards of Appeal (RPBA) is a key measure for increasing the efficiency and predictability of appeal proceedings before the Boards of Appeal of the EPO.

The first public draft of the RPBA was subject to an online user consultation procedure. In light of the responses received, a second version was drafted, including newly introduced provisions on case management.

At the "User consultation conference", users of the system will have the opportunity to hear presentations and panel discussions by members of the Boards of Appeal Committee, the Boards of Appeal and representatives of user associations on the revised public draft of the RPBA.

• View the revised draft of the RPBA (PDF, 356 KB)

Users are invited to attend the conference to discuss the proposed changes to the RPBA.

EPO makes changes to speed up Opposition procedure

From 1 July 2016, the EPO is introducing changes to speed up their Opposition procedure. Opposition may be filed up to 9 months after the grant of the patent by anyone who is aware of facts that render the patent invalid. It is a valuable alternative for filing national invalidity lawsuits in different EPC contracting states because the decision is taken centrally before a single body and affects the scope of protection in all EPC states.
However, opposition can currently take 2-3 years to get a final decision (and even longer if one of the parties appeals). By introducing changes, the EPO hopes to reduce a typical opposition to less than 18 months. In general, they are reducing the number of formal requests for parties to respond to each others comments, being more strict on extending time limits, and making oral proceedings the focus of the procedure:

1. After oppositions are filed, the grounds, facts, evidence and argumentation are forwarded to the proprietor who has a few months to file a response. Previously, the EPO gave 4 months and extensions of the time to reply to 6 months were granted routinely, However, with the new procedure, any extensions to 6 months will only be granted in exceptional circumstances.
2. After the response of the proprietor has been received, it was normal practice to forward the comments to all opponents, giving them 4 months to file their responses. In the new procedure, they comments will still be forwarded, but no formal time limit will be set to respond. The opponents may still respond of their own initiative, and their comments will still be entered into the proceedings.
3. The opposition division will then invite all parties to oral proceedings - this is already the case in most opposition cases, so there is no change in practice. However, the summons will always now give at least 6 months notice, and all parties must supply additional comments and facts at least 2 months before the hearing (previously this was 1 month).
4. The text of the patent at the end of oral proceeding will be considered the final text.
5. Additionally there have been improvements made in the handling times at the EPO to further reduce delays.   

An overview of the new procedure is found here.

Clipart: (c) CanStockPhoto - www.canstockphoto.com 

Useful on-line PCT references

The WIPO recently published in their PCT Newsletter (Practical Advice) an overview of useful PCT on-line references.

We have slightly modified the list by separating the basic and advanced user resources, adding some extra references and including some comments. Our version is available here.

This is very useful for anyone wanting to learn more about PCT.