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.

Level of expertise: Intermediate level

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

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.

Opening of course: 08.05.2017
Closure of course: 31.12.2017
Level of expertise: Intermediate

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.

Level of expertise: Advanced

Since 2017, papers A and B are the same for all candidates, i.e. they are no longer offered in the technical fields chemistry and electricity/mechanics. This course explains what EQE candidates can expect from this new format.

"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.

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

This self-paced course offers a basic introduction to the most important legal and procedural aspects of patents and the European patent system.

Pan-European Seal: this on-line course is mandatory for all candidates.

The ip4inno project consists of 21 modules specifically designed for business advisors, technology transfer professionals and anyone else interested in understanding how IP issues impact SMEs and new businesses.

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.

Every patent application is assigned a category in one of the major patent classification schemes to ensure it can be found in subsequent searches by patent offices and other interested parties. Learn more about how this is done.

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.

This second course of the CPC series gives you a short overview of the CPC and how it differs from the IPC. It also looks at some practical aspects and useful strategies. 

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.

In this course, you will discover how to devise an effective search strategy, how to evaluate the prior art you find and how to know when to stop searching.find out about the role and importance of strategies in the search process.

This distance learning course comprises a series of five one-hour virtual classroom lessons which introduce topics from ip4inno training modules. These modules have been specifically designed to equip companies, business advisors, TTOs and others with an understanding of intellectual property issues as they impact SMEs and new businesses.

This self-paced course explains the role of the EPO as appointed international searching authority and international preliminary examining authority in the process of search and examination of patent applications.

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

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 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 course is available to the group of interviewers realising the EPO User Satisfaction Survey and provides an overview of the EPO and the granting procedure.

This distance learning course comprises a series of five one-hour virtual classroom lessons which introduce the main concepts of IP management. The sessions are particularly suitable for staff in small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) coming to IP management from a background in, for example, R&D, business development or general management.