The course is about providing complimentary information and experience for participants with regards to EPO Case Law related to the specific topics.

Please see the complete training programme.

This self-paced course will give you an overview of how patentability requirements are assessed at the EPO and what objections might be raised during the process. It includes a number of examples of different situations.

In this course you find recordings of two webinars on (1) the business use of patent information and (2) PATSTAT online.

This course comprises 35 recorded lectures in which expert examiners present their CPC technical fields.

The lectures are based on the presentations delivered during the CPC field-specific trainings that took place in 2018 in The Hague and in 2019 in Munich. The events were aimed at staff who use the CPC in classification at national offices in both member states and non-member states.

This distance learning course is offered to patent examiners of national IP offices, in particular those in charge of drafting communications on the merits of a patent application with respect to patentability requirements. Participants will broaden their skills in preparing the written search opinion accompanying a search report according to EPO Guidelines. Training will consist of on-line modules and tests. Recorded sessions of virtual classrooms which took place during the course OD09-2017 further enhance the understanding of the topics.

If you are interested in the course, get in touch with the Academy contact person at your office or with academy@epo.org.

This course includes presentations by EPO lawyers and examiners on recent changes in EPO substantive and procedural matters. Topics addressed are: assessing evidence and plausibility in sufficiency; essential features and their impact on compliance with EPC requirements; latest developments in the Guidelines referred to computer implemented inventions (CII); and procedural aspects at the final stages of the grant procedure towards the best possible protection.

This distance learning course is offered to patent examiners at national IP offices and comprises a series of ten live virtual classroom (VC) sessions on the use of EPOQUE Net. They will help to broaden skills of EPOQUE Net users at national offices. Practical cases will be provided as short assignments prior to each VC. Solution(s) proposed by participants and the tutor(s) will be therein discussed. Tips and tricks on efficient use of the EPO's professional patent search tool will be brought to participants. Features of possible new roll-outs will also be included in the course.

During the VC sessions, participants have the possibility to communicate live with the experts and ask questions.

Please see the complete training programme.

This online course is offered to patent examiners at national IP offices of EPO member states to train them in the use of the CPVO database introduced to the EPOQUE Net tool. 

Course for internal staff only.

Practice is the key to your preparations for Paper D of the EQE, so the Academy is offering you the chance to hone your legal skills by tackling a daily question on the paper. The questions will be posted weekly, for a 12-week period running from 28 September to 18 December. There will be a dedicated entry for each question where you can post your answer. Two European Patent Attorneys comment on the questions (and your answers) every Friday.

"Boards of Appeal and key decisions" is an annual conference where experienced patent practitioners, judges and staff from national patent offices meet to discuss the most recent key decisions and developments in the EPO's boards of appeal case law.

On 4 December 2018 the EPO hosted as the first major patent office a conference entitled “Patenting Blockchain”, an event designed to open a discussion around the impact of Blockchain on the patent system. This course room offers access to the recordings of the lectures and panel discussions.

Examination Matters has become the meeting place for patent attorneys dealing with the EPO in the patent granting procedure. This year's event focused on a single broad thematic area, chemistry, and included four specialised, advanced-level workshops given by senior examiners. In addition, there were a roundtable on how the procedural, legal and administrative changes introduced under SP2023 will impact the work of patent attorneys and a lecture on substantive law.

This high-level event was once again organised in close co-operation with the epi.

This event aims at fostering exchange between experts from National Patent Offices in specific technical fields. Through this exchange, they will further their own knowledge as well as gaining insight into common  issues and differences of practice. A brochure summarising the findings of the exchange is subsequently made available to National Patent Offices. 

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This event aims at fostering exchange between experts from National Patent Offices in specific technical fields. Through this exchange, they will further their own knowledge as well as gaining insight into common  issues and differences of practice. A brochure summarising the findings of the exchange is subsequently made available to National Patent Offices. 

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This self-paced course provides candidates with help and guidance on how to tackle EQE papers A, B, C and D. 

Applying for a patent can be a complex undertaking, with many different aspects to consider. The two modules that take you through the Guide for Applicants give an insight into the procedure to be followed when examining European applications and patents in accordance with the European Patent Convention. The module on oral proceedings also shows you what happens in such proceedings relating to the examination procedure before the EPO.

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The set of recorded lectures around IP management tackle issues on IP strategy, valuation, evaluation and commercialisation. Experts from different areas provide an insight on those topics with many practical examples.

Les secteurs de l'automobile et de la mobilité vivent une époque passionnante. Les technologies de rupture y sont désormais bien intégrées. L'étude récente de l’ OEB-AIE sur le stockage de l'énergie confirme la croissance rapide de l'innovation dans le domaine des batteries et la transition vers des énergies propres.
La propriété intellectuelle est aussi en cours d'adaptation.
Il y a de nouvelles opportunités à saisir et de nouveaux défis à relever.

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These lectures are an opportunity to find out more about the services provided by the EPO, the latest developments in the PCT system and many practical aspects of the PCT procedure. Each lecture deals with the interaction with the EPO at different stages of the PCT procedure: as Receiving Office, as International Search Authority, International Preliminary Examination Authority and as a Designated Office. The speakers are experienced PCT lawyers from the directorate in charge of European and international legal affairs.

Opposition Matters follows in the footsteps of its sister events, Search Matters and Examination Matters, which over the years have become key events for patent searchers and attorneys alike. Have you ever wondered what the day-to-day work of an examiner in opposition involves? The Opposition Matters conference offered the opportunity to find out - direct from our examiners and with senior European patent attorneysco-presenting alongside EPO examiners.

This high-level event was once again organised in close co-operation with the epi.

Participants to the conference find here the recordings of the sessions.

The EPO has been conducting a pilot project since 4 May 2020 for oral proceedings by videoconference before opposition divisions.

Get a feel for this new way of conducting oral proceedings by watching a recording of mock proceedings featuring a real EPO opposition division and experienced European patent attorneys.

This course is restricted to the participants of the BIT Knowledge eXchange (BKX). For inquiries on access please contact Ms Rogier at BKX@epo.org

The European Patent Convention (EPC) sets out the legal framework for a single, harmonised patent granting procedure for the European patent, which exists in parallel with national patents subject to national prosecution procedures.

Post-grant litigation and enforcement procedures differ quite substantially across the EPC contracting states, as do the courts adjudicating on patent matters. This online course provides a country-by-country overview.

This course room offers access to material covering a range of topics related to computer-implemented inventions, from patentability requirements to new technologies and specific uses of CII in fields like biotech and healthcare.

This self-paced course explains the criteria for patentability, relating to both the invention and the patent application, according to the EPC.

Pan-European Seal: this on-line course is mandatory for candidates in international & legal affairs (DG5).

PCT Updates is an online seminar where an EPO team of PCT experts discuss the latest developments regarding the PCT. To find out more about what’s new in the PCT procedures at the EPO, the amendments to the Regulations under the PCT,  the latest PCT developments on Covid-19 remedies and the entry into force of the new Rule 20.5bis, you can register for the webinar in English or German. You can also watch last year’s seminar with the information in French.

This self-paced course room gives candidates access to the actual pre-examination papers from 2015 to 2017.

This self-paced training course is all about understanding and interpreting the information contained in search reports and written opinions. The emphasis is on practical examples and exercises.

Pan-European Seal: this on-line course is mandatory for candidates in science and technology fields (DG1) and in international & legal affairs (DG5).

This self-paced course offers a practical guide towards systematic patent search, from the process of analysing the patent application to carrying out a sufficiently complete and efficient search and deciding when to stop the search.

Pan-European Seal: this on-line course is mandatory for candidates in science and technology fields (DG1).

European university students from all disciplines will get hands-on experience of the EPO and insight into the work of EPO experts from a variety of fields to get a deeper understanding of the European patent system.

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On completion of the seminar participants (NPO staff) will be able to: 

This self-paced training course deals with the role of patents in innovation and research, the conditions an invention has to meet in order to become a patent and how to use patent documentation for a particular research project.

This course presents tools and databases available at the EPO that help you to prepare and file your patent application.

This self-paced course offers an overview of the CPC classification system, from the basics to the CPC definition documents.

Pan-European Seal: this on-line course is mandatory for candidates in science and technology fields (DG1).