The expertise and specialist knowledge of professional representatives (European patent attorneys) before the EPO and patent administrators are essential to the operation of the European patent system, which is why the European Patent Academy co-ordinates and supports an in-depth training programme for them.
We also provide courses and training materials for European qualifying examination (EQE) candidates and their tutors.
The Academy endeavours to ensure that access to training opportunities is the same in all the member states of the European Patent Organisation. We focus in particular on those countries in which the EQE pass rate is low or there are very few professional representatives. Every year we organise roving seminars to cover as many member states as possible, offering training on updated procedures and European substantive law.
We provide training materials in the form of online seminars for patent attorneys and administrators. We also produce e-learning modules that EQE candidates can use to practise answering papers, improve their confidence and generally familiarise themselves with the requirements of the examination. We recognise the vital role played by expert attorneys in supervising our candidates in their three-year preparation period and we make sure that we give them plenty of help, information and feedback.
We also provide more established attorneys with training in new procedures and practices, as well as opportunities to broaden and deepen their existing knowledge and skills.
