General Policies

Candidates should use this policy if they wish to appeal an administrative decision about:

• Eligibility (Qualifying Examinations and PEB Advanced Certificate in Patent Administration only).
• Exemptions (Qualifying Examinations  and Advanced Certificate in Patent Administration only).
• Reasonable Adjustments (all PEB examinations).
• Malpractice (all PEB examinations).
• Any other PEB decision relating to the administration of the examination.

A fee may be levied for this service. If the appeal is upheld, a full refund of the fees charged for this service will be made.

For Malpractice appeals only:

The appellant has a right to be heard by a panel of three people, none of whom took the original decision.

If you wish to appeal an examination result, please use the Enquiries about Results Policy.

If you wish to provide feedback to the PEB on its customer service level, please use the Customer Feedback Policy.

Feedback and Complaints

The PEB aims to provide the highest possible standard of service to candidates and stakeholders. If you are dissatisfied with any aspect of the service quality you receive, or have feedback or suggestions for improvement, we would welcome your comments.

PEB considers all complaints, feedback and suggestions seriously. Feedback, complaints or suggestions that are submitted in anonymous emails will be considered, but the PEB will not provide a response.

Comments and Feedback

Comments and feedback can be provided to PEB in the following ways:

• After every Qualifying Examinations and ICPA examination session, the PEB contacts candidates to invite them to complete the Candidate Survey. The Candidate Survey Report and the PEB’s Response are published on the PEB website after the examination results have been issued to candidates.
• Twice yearly, representatives of the “Informals”, a group of student members of CIPA, meet members of the PEB Governance Board and PEB staff. The Informals raise issues and queries of general interest (not matters relating to individual candidates) at these meetings.
• By email to [email protected].

Complaints

1          Complaints may be made by an individual, a business or an organisation.

2          The PEB will not accept complaints that relate to matters that occurred more than six months previously.

3          Complaints should be emailed to: [email protected] .

4          The email should state clearly the nature of the complaint. Any relevant documents should be included as attachments (Word or PDF).

5          The PEB will:

• Acknowledge receipt of the complaint within five working days of receipt
• Investigate the complaint or arrange for an independent investigator if this is more appropriate. The PEB will not re-visit issues that were previously considered under the Appeals Policy in the course of the investigation;
• Provide a full response to the complaint within fifteen working days. If this is not possible the complainant will be sent an interim response stating the reason(s) for the delay.
• If appropriate, the response will include details of any arrangements for raising the matter with the PEB Governance Board, with CIPA or with an external body, for example IPReg.

What this Policy does not Cover

Examiners’ decisions involving the application of professional or academic judgment are not covered by this Policy.

If you have failed an examination and are not content that your assessment was marked accurately, you should refer to the Enquiries about Results Policy.

You should refer to the Appeals Policy, if you wish to appeal an administrative decision including a decision about:

• Eligibility (Qualifying Examinations only)
• Exemptions (Qualifying Examinations only)
• Reasonable Adjustments (all PEB examinations)
• Malpractice (all PEB examinations).
• Special Consideration (all PEB examinations)
• Any other PEB decision relating to the administration of an examination.