EQE Paper F case studies
EQE Paper F · Put your knowledge to work in context.
Paper F is one of the papers of the European qualifying examination (EQE), the examination route by which candidates seek to qualify as European patent attorneys. The EPO's own site lists the EQE under its Learning section, alongside the European patent administration certification (EPAC) and a Candidate Support Programme, and points candidates to learning resources specifically profiled for EQE and EPAC candidates. The EQE Paper F case studies are 5 cases and about 4,999 words.
1Approved text under Rule 71(3): last-minute corrections and a third-party attack
European patent application EP 2 187 654.3 (applicant: Kabushiki Kaisha Tokai Denki, Tokyo) is in examination before the examining division. On 12 March 2024 the division despatched a communication under Rule 71(3) EPC approving a text with claims 1-12, description pages 1-9 and figures 1-3, and inviting payment of the grant and printing fees and filing of any translations.
1,044 words, about 5 min2A reply lost in the docket: further processing or re-establishment
EP application 2 901 233.4 belongs to Nordlicht Geratetechnik GmbH, a thirty-person company whose files are handled by a single in-house patent attorney using an electronic docket with a paper back-up printout. The examining division issued a communication under Article 94(3) EPC dated 4 March 2024, notified on the same day to the MyEPO Mailbox, setting a four-month period.
1,011 words, about 5 min3Intermediate generalisation in claim 1: what can still be argued at the third examination report
EP application 3 112 456.7 concerns a coated steel strip. The examining division's third communication under Article 94(3) EPC, dated 10 June 2024 and notified the same day, raises two objections.
1,079 words, about 5 min4Euro-PCT partial search: paying, protesting or abandoning the second invention
A Euro-PCT application entered the European phase on 3 November 2023. The EPO did not act as International Searching Authority; the international search was carried out elsewhere.
803 words, about 4 min5Short-notice summons to oral proceedings with a new objection
EP application 2 456 789.1 is in examination. On 15 October 2024 the examining division issued a summons to oral proceedings fixed for 3 December 2024, notified to the MyEPO Mailbox the same day.
1,062 words, about 5 min