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The EPO offers short training internships aimed at European patent attorneys (in private practice or industry) and suitably experienced candidates for the European qualifying examination (EQE) .
The programme is run by the European Patent Academy , whose objectives include the promotion of equal access to training opportunities related to international and European patent law and practice in all current and future EPC contracting states .
Trainees spend three weeks (extendible to four) in Directorate-General 1 (search, examination and opposition) in Munich or The Hague, or in Directorate-General 3 (appeals) in Munich.
In DG 1 they work on actual case files, under the supervision of an examiner who explains how DG 1 works and how to use its electronic tools. DG 1 internships are possible only at set times, which for 2009 are as follows:
20 April to 8 May (Munich)
8 to 26 June (The Hague)
9 to 27 November (Munich)
In DG 3, trainees are assigned to a technical board of appeal, between dates agreed with the board in question. They learn about the boards' procedures, and may also be able to attend oral proceedings.
The actual training is free, but trainees must pay their own living costs and other expenses.
Candidates for the programme must be nationals of an EPC contracting state , and their residence or place of business must also be in such a country.
They are required to have adequate knowledge of European and/or a national patent grant procedure , and must have successfully completed the CEIPI/epibasic training in European patent law or at least an equivalent course. For DG 3 training they must also have further patent-law qualifications (preferably the EQE or national patent-attorney examination) and practical experience of dealing with patent cases (filing, opposition and/or appeals).
In addition, they must have a good knowledge of at least one EPO official language and a basic knowledge of the other two. The number of places on the programme each year is limited, and preference will be given to candidates whose mother tongue is not an EPO official language.
For enrolment for the 2009 programme, please fill in the online
application form.
Applications must reach the European Patent Academy no later than 30 November 2008.
If you submit your application as a draft, you can retrieve it here.
Please contact us for further information:
internships@epo.org