Training for Qualification as European Patent Attorney
ABC/D Comprehensive Book, Course and Course Themes
ABC/D Comprehensive
Book
The
themes
covered by the ABC/D course have now been published as a book
which is a comprehensive analysis of the European Qualifying Exam for
candidates preparing for the exam. It covers all aspects of preparing
for the exam and tackling the different papers.
The book is available from www.unibook.com
and you can
obtain details
by entering the keyword "patent".
The ABC/D Comprehensive course covers the same themes as
expounded in the book, but illustrated by examples.
ABC/D Comprehensive
Course
This 2-day course is designed for candidates who are embarking on
their preparations for the EQE, to enable them to lay the foundations
of effective exam preparation and enhance their professional
performance on the job. The course will also be useful for candidates -
including resitters - who have already done some serious exam
preparation and need to review what they have achieved so far in order
to consolidate and continue successfully.
As implied by the title «ABC/D», the course tackles the EQE as a law exam where paper D lays the
legal foundation for the
practical papers A, B and C. Moreover, it
pursues the philosophy
underlying the courses on the AB, C and D papers that have been
successfully run by Patskills for over 20 years.
The skills a Patent Attorney must develop are identified and equated
with the exam tasks to help candidates become excellent professionals
through their exam preparation. Recommendations for exam preparation
are coupled with guidance to develop good working habits.
The exam papers A, B, C and D are considered individually and
collectively through a common approach that includes : the common
client; the common working method (read - plan - write); mastering
legal consequences and legal thinking; comprehending what constitutes
an argument in order to learn
how to present appropriate arguments in the different papers; how novelty and
inventive step (problem-solution) are tested in the practical context
of all exam papers; and time management.
The ABC/D course is more than a primer to introduce beginners to
the EQE ; it aims to provide the participants with a thorough
understanding of the exam so they can lay down their medium and long
term preparations in order to optimize the return they obtain for their
efforts. By the end of this two-day course, the participants should be
well on their way to effectively orienting their exam preparation and
their professional development.
Course Themes
The original courses AB, C and D each concentrate on a given topic:
papers A/B
drafting/amendment,
C opposition or D legal. Nevertheless, several themes are common to
these courses and these themes are explored in greater detail in the
ABC/D Comprehensive Course: Representing clients interests; Relating
the exam and
everyday
work; Common approach to all papers; and Learning by trial and error.
Theme 1: Representing clients interests
The basic task of a European Patent Attorney
("professional
representative") is to serve as a reliable advisor to persons
interested
in patent matters, acting as an independent counsellor by serving the
interests
of his/her clients in an unbiased manner without regard to his/her
personal
feelings or interests. (cf Code of Conduct 1c, EPOJ 1999 537, epi
information 2/2000).
The European Qualifying Exam tests not only whether
the
candidate can provide reliable advice on patent matters, but also the
candidate's
ability to serve his/her client's interests.
But who is the candidate's client? In fact, what is
a
client? And how does a client manifest its interests?
To understand what to do in the Exam, the notion of
representing
a client's interests can be related to the following:
- Different clients have different policies,
requirements and
interests. This means that European Patent Attorneys have to act
appropriately
for different clients, in private practice on a daily basis, or in
industrial
practice when acting for different subsidiaries or departments or when
changing companies.
- To reliably serve clients interests always
means
finding
out their interests. If you do this you will be able to successfully
represent
different clients throughout your career.
- In the Exam context, the Examining Body is
notionally your
client. Ask yourself the questions: Who sends you the instructions?
Who
do you take instructions from?
- Being a joint venture between the epi and the
EPO,
the Examining
Body is a very demanding client: the main feature of its policy is:
maximum
protection for the clients interests on the one hand, and compliance
with
all legal requirements on the other hand, leaving no room for
compromise.
A difficult client to please!
- This client however provides ample indications
of
its expectations:
general policies in the "instructions to candidates", specific
instructions
in the various papers, and feedback: individual marking to unsuccessful
candidates; Examiners reports and specimen answers in the Compendium.
It's
definitely in the interest of any candidate who wants to qualify to
find
out what are this client's requirements!
During the courses, we therefore pay particular
attention
to the wishes of our client, contrasting where necessary with
situations
where the clients have different requirements.
Theme 2: Relating the exam and everyday work
Even after 3 to 5 years, most trainees work experience
is
insufficient to qualify them as a patent attorney. This is where the
exam
comes in, because it goes beyond work routines and provides trainees
with
an excellent opportunity to broaden the scope of their competence.
In the courses we try and exploit this situation in
two
ways. First, we bring the exam into a practical context so that working
habits can be adjusted to the task at hand. Second, we take advantage
of
the exam situation to gain a better understanding of the techniques
used
in everyday practice to draft claims, defend patentability, etc, and to
expand the trainees area of competence.
The aim is that most candidates will gain knowledge
and
skills applicable at work and in the exam, helping them to achieve
professional
competence and pass the qualifying exam sooner.
Theme 3: Common approach to all papers
Each paper of the Exam tests different aspects of the
patent
attorney's work and requires specific attention and preparation. Most
important
however is the common approach to the different papers. By
concentrating
on techniques applicable to several papers, the overall work in
preparing
the exam can be limited to a manageable level.
The common approach to the exam is reflected in :
- The requirements of the common
client for the different papers.
- The techniques for assimilating facts
in
paper A (clients
letter and prior art), paper B (patent application, communication,
prior
art), paper C (opposed patent, clients letter prior art) paper DI
(short legal questions) and paper DII
(complex legal situation).
- The techniques for reorganising the facts
according
to the specific purpose, ending up with: introduction and claims (paper
A), amended claims and supporting arguments (paper B), notice of
opposition
and legal notes (paper C), concise answers with legal basis (paper DI)
and structured legal opinion (paper DII).
- The substantive
law on novelty and inventive step and the different ways novelty
and inventive step are tested in the different papers.
- The development of legal arguments,
i.e. a
presentation
of facts leading to a legal consequence (fact -> legal provision
-> legal
consequence).
- The need to perform the tasks at hand in a limited time, requiring effective
time management.
The predetermined legal consequence or conclusion for
Papers
A (valid claims), B (valid claims) and C (revocation) enables us to
develop
a more-or-less systematic approach for these papers, Paper DI forming a
basis for developing legal reasoning and Paper DII being
more
difficult because it is complex but has no predetermined conclusion
like the practical papers.
The techniques for developing arguments take account
of
the progressive difficulty: paper DI, short legal arguments; paper A,
introduction and claim structure
in
support of patentability; paper B, letter with detailed arguments in
support
of novelty and inventive step; paper C arguments against novelty and
inventive
step; paper DII advice based on legal consequences resulting from the
situation.
All courses therefore address each paper in the
context
of the entire exam, aiming to maximise the benefit for the work
invested.
Theme 4: Learning by trial and error and the correction of errors
The expertise of an experienced patent attorney is
accumulated
largely by trial and error over an extended period of time. Making
mistakes
and, most important, correcting them
is
one of the best ways of learning, but we cannot
expect our clients to pay for incompetence.
The Case Law is full of illustrations where trainees
can
learn from other people's mistakes. Preparing for the exam - and even
the
exam itself - gives trainees the opportunity to make their own
mistakes,
but the feedback from the exam and traditional tutorials is slow and
errors
tend to be stigmatized, which is counterproductive for the individual's
development.
The courses provide an ideal forum where
participants
can make mistakes and raise questions about their problems, and
everyone
can learn from the discussion, with correction on the spot. In the
practical
exercises such as claim drafting we look at drafts at different stages
of their development, learning by discussing the imperfections.
The aim is to encourage the participants to develop
good habits in checking and correcting their work as a means to achieve
professional competence.