Pre exam
From EQE Wiki provided by the European Patent Academy
Contents |
Basic Information
- Start date : 2012
- Duration : 4 hours
- Criterion : At least 2 years training.
- Syllabus : The same as full EQE exam, but consideration is given that candidates have only 2 years of training.
- Format : This exam will be a multiple choice exam.
Multiple-choice questions
The pre-examination is in the form of a multiple-choice examination to assess a candidate's ability to answer legal questions and questions relating to the drafting of claims. There are 10 legal questions and 10 questions relating to the drafting of claims. Each question has four sub-questions and each sub-question must be answered either "true" or "false" on the answer sheet. The marking scheme is weighted to reduced the effects of guesswork, so for each question,
- a correct answer to none or one of the sub-questions is awarded 0 marks,
- two correct answers are awarded 1 mark,
- three correct answers are awarded 3 marks,
- four correct answers are awarded 5 marks.
Note : 50 marks are required to pass the pre-examination.
Legal Questions
The legal questions are on a level similar to the D1 paper of the full EQE, but are rather more straightforward to answer because of the multiple-choice answers provided.
It has been suggested by the Examination Board that questions will be directed to fundamental points of law and will not be unduly complex. It appears likely that questions will be primarily concerned with articles and rules, together with G decisions, but are unlikely to require knowledge of specific T decisions.
Questions relating to the drafting of claims
The paper presents a brief case study with examples of the client's invention, together with initial prior art. The first questions relate to whether or not the subject-matter of various forms of independent claim encompass the examples of the client's invention and whether or not the subject-matter of the claim is novel over the prior art.
At least one further prior art document is then introduced and this is followed initially by one or more questions relating to whether or not the claim encompasses the examples of the client's invention and whether or not the subject-matter of the claim is novel over the prior art, but subsequently the questions become more varied and can include aspects such as whether the subject-matter of the claim extends beyond the content of the application as filed, whether the claim is in correct two-part form, which is the correct closest prior-art document and should therefore be in the pre-characterising portion (preamble) of the amended claim, whether or not the claim is clear, what objective technical problem is solved by the amended claim, and whether or not there is an inventive step and why.
The Examination Board has explained that this set of questions will concentrate on substantive aspects of novelty, basis, added subject-matter and inventive step, rather than academic issues.
Tactics
Although all questions should be answered, it is suggested that candidates should pass over any question they find particularly difficult and then come back to any such question towards the end of the exam. The idea is that you are seeking to score 50 points overall and if there are any questions you can readily answer then make sure of the points that are available.
Filling in the Answer Sheet
It is suggested to candidates that they do not fill in the answer sheet immediately, but that they make a note of their answers on a separate sheet of paper. This allows corrections to be made more readily, reducing the possibility of damaging the answer sheet or failing completely to erase a previous answer. Candidates adopting this suggestion should ensure they leave sufficient time towards the end of the exam to complete the answer sheet.
The answer sheet should be filled in with a black, medium-soft HB pencil. This enables candidates to correct answers if necessary by erasing an unintended answer and substituting an alternative answer. Candidates should therefore take into the pre-examination a supply of suitable pencils and at least one eraser.
Resources provided by the Examination Board
There are two mock pre-examinations on the EPO website, which can be found here [1] together with further information concerning the pre-examination.
Updating
Page updated December 2011