This distance learning course is offered to patent examiners at national IP offices. Participants will learn to apply the criteria for clarity as well as the methodology for determining the unity of invention in line with the EPO practice (Guidelines and Case Law). Virtual classroom sessions allow for direct interaction with EPO expert tutors.

This distance learning course is offered to patent examiners at national IP offices. Participants will learn to assess novelty and inventive step in line with the EPO practice (Guidelines and Case Law). Virtual classroom sessions allow for direct interaction with expert tutors from the European Patent Office.

The Boards of Appeal and key decisions conference is a unique opportunity for patent practitioners to gain an insight into the Board of Appeal case law and practice. The 10^th edition of this conference, online in 2020 provides updates on:

• - Boards of Appeal selected case law highlights
• - Novelty - ranges and multiple selections
• - AI and computer implemented inventions
• - Enlarged Board of Appeal opinion: G3/19

This advanced-level seminar is an exchange meeting between experienced examiners from NPOs of the member states and from the EPO, focused this year on disclosure and implicit features. The goal is to establish a review of the practices and to point out common elements and differences.

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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.

From October to December 2020, D-type questions were sent on a daily basis to subscribers. You can still find the questions in an online course room with the answers and a forum which was tutored until the end of December 2020.
Enrol to the online course "EQE | Daily D questions".

"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.

The expert exchange on procedural and expert matters addresses which important aspects are to be considered regarding amendments and corrections during substantive examination proceedings.

The workshop includes detailed discussions on the admissibility of amendments at the various stages of the proceedings, in conjunction with the applicable legal requirements as well as with other elements, such as auxiliary requests, substantive priority claims and divisional applications, as examples.

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The expert exchange on procedural and expert matters addresses which important aspects are to be considered regarding amendments and corrections during substantive examination proceedings.

The workshop includes detailed discussions on the admissibility of amendments at the various stages of the proceedings, in conjunction with the applicable legal requirements as well as with other elements, such as auxiliary requests, substantive priority claims and divisional applications, as examples.

Registration

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

This course will provide participants with a comprehensive overview and understanding of issues arising in patent infringement cases and proceedings.

It is recommended for judges from EPC member states, with little or some experience in hearing patent cases. The course is only open to judges who sit in courts competent to hear patent cases in their countries.

In diesem Kurs finden Sie die Videos einer Vortragsreihe für Formalsachbearbeiter, welche im Februar und März 2017 stattfand. Juristen und erfahrene Formalsachbearbeiter des EPA behandelten Verfahrensfragen, Beispiele und aktuelle Entwicklungen aus speziellen Bereichen der Formalsachbearbeitung.

This course keeps you up to date with some of the most recent changes in patent law.

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.

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 gives an insight into the specific patentability requirements and legal basis for particular topics such as biotechnology, computer-implemented inventions or patents based on traditional medicinal knowledge.

PCT Updates is an online seminar where an EPO team of PCT experts discuss the latest news and developments regarding the PCT: 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 choose to watch the seminar in any of the three official languages of the EPO.

This course provides you with an overview and practical exercises about the problem-solution approach, which was developed to assess the inventiveness requirement of a European patent application.

This course is intended for those interested in judicial matters, such as the concept of "prior user", the principle applied to interpreting the scope of patent claims in an invention, the enforcement directive on IP rights and developments with regard to the unitary patent.

The Spring Patentability e-Academy seminar is an online platform for exchanging views with EPO examiners. Participants should complete three online self-paced courses and prepare three personal contributions on specific topics of their choice, to be shared and discussed in two online sessions with EPO tutors and other participants.

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