Regulations

  • Constitution of the Patent Examination Board

    The Patent Examination Board (PEB) is a committee of the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA) and can only exist and operate as such. The PEB acts independently of CIPA’s Council and is fully and separately accountable for its plan of work and activities.

    • The PEB comprises a Governance Board (GB) and an Examination Committee (EC). The EC reports to the GB.
    • The PEB has an Head of Qualifications responsible for management of the operation of the PEB. The Head of Qualifications reports to the Chair of the GB.
    • The PEB appoints Chief, Principal and Marking Examiners with expertise in the examined subjects as may be required for the PEB to satisfactorily administer the requisite patent examinations.
    • Changes or alterations to the provisions hereof shall not become effective until approved by the Intellectual Property Regulation Board (IPReg), in consultation with CIPA.

    Membership of the Patent Examination Board

    Governance Board

    • The GB consists of five members: three lay members with expertise in the area of education, assessment and examination and two members who are qualified patent attorneys. The patent attorney members shall not be members of CIPA Council.
    • The GB shall elect a Chair from the lay members of the GB on an annual basis.
    • The Head of Qualifications is a non-voting member of the GB.

    Examination Committee

    • The EC comprises the Chief and Principal Examiners. The EC also comprises ex-officio patent attorney and lay members of the GB as appropriate. Marking Examiners, or others with appropriate expertise, may be invited to the EC as required.

    Terms of Engagement

    Governance Board

    • Members of the GB appointed after 1 January 2015 shall be appointed for an initial term no longer than three years.
    • A GB member may be reappointed for a subsequent term of three years on a majority vote of the remaining GB members.
    • No member of the GB is permitted to serve for more than six consecutive years without having a break period of at least two years, with the exception that the lay member appointed for a period of four years at inception of the PEB shall be permitted a further period of office of three years before any break period.
    • Vacancies resulting from the natural termination of a period of office or through resignation on other grounds shall be filled through open competition and the appointment made by a panel comprising two lay members and one member who is a qualified patent attorney of the GB.
    • Members of the GB shall be remunerated at a rate to be determined annually by the GB,ataratecommensurate
withotherlayrepresentationratesemployedby IPReg.
    • The performance of individual members of the GB will be assessed one year after initial appointment, and one year after any re-appointment.
    • The Head of Qualifications will be appointed by the GB as part of the administrative support from CIPA, and in consultation with CIPA.
    • The terms of employment of the Head of Qualifications and any other administrative staff shall ensure that they report directly or indirectly only to the Chair of the GB when engaged on PEB matters, in order to maintain the operational independence of the PEB.

    Examination Committee

    • The GB on behalf of the PEB will appoint as many Chief and Principal Examiners to satisfactorily administer the requisite examinations from year to year.
    • Principal Examiners and Marking Examiners will be appointed and reappointed on an annual basis in accordance with policies and procedures approved by the GB.
    • Members of the EC shall be remunerated at a rate to be determined annually by the GB.

    Proceedings

    Governance Board

    • The GB shall operate in accordance with Terms of Reference (ToR) which shall be published and which shall be reviewed annually by the GB. The ToR determine the manner in which the PEB will conduct its business and regulate its proceedings.
    • The GB has the power to convene such sub- committees and working groups as are necessary for the PEB to operate effectively whilst ensuring that the GB retains oversight of the activities of the PEB.
    • Any sub-committee of the GB shall be chaired by a lay member.
    • A meeting of the GB shall be quorate if two lay members and one member who is a qualified patent attorney of the GB are present. In the absence of the elected Chair, a quorate meeting of the GB shall elect one of the lay members present as the Chair.
    • The Head of Qualifications shall provide all members of the GB not less than seven days’ notice of the date, time and place of any meeting of the GB. Wherever practicable this notice should be accompanied by a copy of the agenda and all available papers delivered via electronic means.
    • At any meeting, only the GB members present shall have voting rights. A motion shall be duly passed if a majority of the GB members present vote in favour. There shall be no casting vote. If a majority cannot be secured, the motion shall be deferred until the next meeting of the GB.

    Examination Committee

    •  The EC shall operate in accordance with Terms of Reference (ToR) which shall be published and which shall be reviewed annually by the GB. The ToR determine the manner in which the EC will conduct its business and regulate its proceedings.
    • The Head of Qualifications shall provide all members of EC not less than seven days’ notice of the date, time and place of any meeting of the EC. Wherever practicable this notice should be accompanied by a copy of the agenda and all available papers delivered via electronic means.

    Functions, Powers and Duties of the PEB

    • The PEB exists to provide examinations in the field of intellectual property.
    • The PEB shall publish the syllabuses for each examination in the examination year.
    • The PEB shall publish guidance for candidates.
    • The PEB shall prepare and publish information for candidates which will include but will not be restricted to the requirements for eligibility, the examination timetable, examination processes and the appeals procedure.
    • For the examinations which the PEB is approved to administer by IPReg, the PEB will administer these examinations in line with an operating plan submitted to IPReg.
    • The operating plan will set out the examination and financial objectives for the PEB on a three year rolling cycle. There will an annual self-assessment by the GB and external verification by IPReg, the results of which will be published in a self-assessment report (SAR) produced by the GB.
    • The PEB shall be responsible for holding examinations on an annual cycle at such times and in such places as it thinks fit.
    • The PEB shall satisfy itself that each candidate undertaking all examinations has complied with the requirements for eligibility published within the examination regulations.
    • The PEB shall issue every successful candidate with a certificate of achievement.
    • All members of the GB and EC and Marking Examiners and the Head of Qualifications and all administrative staff shall be bound by rules to safeguard the confidentiality of the proceedings of the PEB and all examinations, and shall be required to make declarations as to all and any actual or perceived conflicts of interest.
    • The GB shall take full responsibility for quality assurance of examinations, subject to any additional external verification requirements put in place by IPReg, to ensure that examinations meet the minimum requirements for entry onto the register.
    • The GB Chair will be accountable for the validity, reliability, freedom from bias, and comparability of the question papers, the quality of marking and the monitoring of standards over time.
    • The GB shall be fully responsible for the financial affairs of the PEB and operate in a manner that is fully independent from the fiscal management of CIPA, save that financial transactions shall be managed and reported through CIPA’s accounting systems.
    • The PEB shall be financially self-supporting and shall accumulate an appropriate reserve for contingencies such as appeals, legal challenges and excessive fluctuations in the demand for examinations. Any additional funds shall be used to reduce examination fees or to invest in the quality of PEB’s processes. The income of the PEB shall consist solely of such fees and payments as the PEB requires in order 
undertake its activities as an examining body.
  • The PEB Governance Board Terms of Reference

    These ToR describe the operational responsibilities of the Governance Board and must be read in conjunction with the Constitution of the Patent Examination Board. The operational responsibilities of the Governance Board are to:


    Strategic Leadership

    • Develop and approve the strategic direction of the Patent Examination Board (PEB), and ensure the PEB operates within the parameters of its Constitution and that all Regulatory Requirements are met.

    Monitoring Effective and Efficient Delivery of Strategy

    • Develop and monitor the Business Plan and associated budgets, and ensure that sufficient resources (both financial and staffing) are available to deliver the agreed strategy.

    Quality Assurance and Risk Management

    • Monitor and quality assure the development of PEB policies, procedures and qualifications, including the development of assessment materials, and their operation.
    • Monitor the impact of PEB policies and procedures and assessment materials on equality of access to all PEB qualifications.
    • Receive reports and recommendations on examination performance (including reports from the Examination Committee) and advise on further actions to be taken.
    • Monitor a risk management process and identify and respond to significant and material risks to PEB.

    Stakeholder engagement

    • Ensure a specific focus on the experience of examination candidates throughout all activities.
    • Engage effectively with all key stakeholders and
 ensure effective consultation with relevant stakeholders on any significant changes to policies, procedures and products.
    • Ensure that all PEB reports and publications are clear, concise and accurate.
  • The PEB Examination Committee Terms of Reference

    These ToR must be read in conjunction with the Constitution of the Patent Examination Board.The PEB comprises a Governance Board (GB) and an Examination Committee (EC) which can meet as sub-groups if required. The EC reports to the GB.


    Proceedings

    • The ToR determine the manner in which the EC will conduct its business and regulate its proceedings.

    Purpose/role

    The remit of the EC includes:

    • advising on topics requiring examiner expertise and input. For example, syllabi and test specification.
    • standard setting, developing setting guidelines and review of procedures.
    • responding to feedback, particularly from students.
    • making recommendations for on-going examination improvement and the development of new qualifications.

    Scope

    • The EC’s work is separate from, and additional to, that carried out in standardisation, setting or awarding meetings, although issues identified in those meetings may be bought to the EC.

    Membership

    • Chief and Principal Examiners for the following PEB qualifications:
      • Foundation Certificate
      • Final Diploma
      • Litigation Skills.
    • Ex-officio patent attorney and lay members of the GB as appropriate.
    • In addition, Marking Examiners, or others with appropriate expertise, may be invited to attend an EC meeting.
    • The meetings will be chaired by the Chief Examiner. If there is more than one Chief Examiner present, then the EC will nominate a chair for that meeting.

    Terms of engagement

    • The GB on behalf of the PEB will appoint as many Chief and Principal Examiners to satisfactorily administer the requisite patent examinations from year to year.
    • Principal Examiners and Marking Examiners will be appointed and reappointed on an annual basis in accordance with policies and procedures approved by the GB.
    • Chief Examiners and Principal Examiners will be members of the EC for as long as they are in post.
    • Members of the EC shall be remunerated at a rate to be determined annually by the GB.

    Meetings

    • The EC will meet a minimum of once a year.
    • The PEB Operations Manager shall provide all members of the EC not less than seven days’ notice of the date, time and place of any meeting of the EC. Wherever practicable this notice should be accompanied by a copy of the agenda and all available papers delivered via electronic means.
    • Items for the agenda will be invited from both the GB and the EC.
    • The meetings may be held collectively, or by qualification, level or topic area.

    Accountability

    • The EC will report formally to the GB.
    • Minutes will be approved by the Chief Examiner and circulated to members of the EC and the GB.
    • Recommendations or findings from the EC will be submitted to the GB. Proposed changes to syllabi, procedures etc. will be subject to scrutiny by the GB who may consult with other stakeholders as appropriate.

    Quality Assurance and Enhancement

    • The GB will monitor the performance of the EC. The effectiveness of the EC including the ToR will be reviewed after its first full year of operation and annually thereafter.
    • The PEB GB Self-Assessment Report will provide a summary review.

    Confidentiality and Conflict of Interest

    • All members of the EC and GB and the Operations Manager and all administrative staff shall be bound by rules to safeguard the confidentiality of the proceedings of the EC and all examinations, and shall be required to make declarations as to all and any actual or perceived conflicts of interest.
  • The PEB Conflict of Interest Policy

    A conflict of interest is a situation in which a person or organisation is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another.

    The PEB Governance Board has collective responsibility for monitoring the operation of this policy, ensuring that it is disseminated to all members of the PEB (which includes operational staff and members of the Governance Board itself), providing advice and guidance to members on its operation and, where necessary, seeking external guidance.

    What is a Conflict of Interest?

    Decision making processes frequently require that decision maker(s) balance competing interests. A conflict of interest arises when a decision maker is subject to an additional interest (the conflicting interest) which is not or should not be germane to the decision being taken but which has the potential to influence the judgement of the decision maker.

    Mere assertion of not being influenced does not dispose of a conflict of interest, because influence can be sub-conscious. The test is that of a knowledgeable bystander – would he perceive a potential for a conflict of interest.

    Thus, it is important to note that the term ‘conflict of interest’ includes a potential conflict of interest.

    Many organisations have conflict of interest policies which focus on the role of individuals in their decision making processes and seek to manage the conflict of interest which may result from the relationship of those individuals with outside persons and organisations. However, the PEB as an organisation is potentially subject to pressures from stakeholders which are themselves organisations and which can affect the operation and existence of the PEB as an assessment and awarding body. Response to those pressures may affect the judgement of the PEB as an organisation as well as the judgement of individuals within the PEB. Accordingly, this policy and the accompanying Register seek to identify and deal with conflicts of interest at both the individual and the organisational level.

    Dealing with a Conflict of Interest

    This can be summarised as: acknowledge; manage; prohibit.

    In many instances it is not possible to eliminate a conflict of interest. In that circumstance it is important to:

    • acknowledge openly the conflict of interest,
    • to consider what, if any, mitigation might be applied to manage the conflict and to weigh the likely impact of the conflict influencing a decision, and, if necessary,
    • prohibit persons affected by the conflict from taking part in the relevant decision making process.

    There are conflicts of interest common to individuals in each of the respective divisions (Operational, Examination Committee, and Governance Board) of the PEB and so it is possible to formulate mitigation policies which are likely to be applied commonly across a division. Nevertheless, it is incumbent on individuals to consider their own personal circumstances and ensure that all conflicts of interest are reported.

    There are conflicts of interest common to individuals in each of the respective divisions (Operational, Examination Committee, and Governance Board) of the PEB and so it is possible to formulate mitigation policies which are likely to be applied commonly across a division. Nevertheless, it is incumbent on individuals to consider their own personal circumstances and ensure that all conflicts of interest are reported.

    The appendices to this policy set out guidelines for managing certain types of conflict of interest. However, in each specific case, the appropriateness of the general guideline must be considered.

    Register of Conflicts of Interest

    Over time, individuals and organisations can lose sight of actual and potential conflicts of interest. It is, therefore, important to maintain a Register of conflicts of interest. The Register needs to identify the conflict, identify what areas of activity are relevant, any mitigation which is put in place, and when the conflict is no longer germane. The Register must be kept up to date, reviewed regularly by the PEB Governance Board and it must be of manageable size.

    The register should be open to PEB operational staff and the Governance Board, as this will assist individuals in identifying their own conflicts of interest which should be registered. It will be tabled, updated and reviewed at every PEB GB meeting.

    Examiner conflicts of interest are required to be reported and will be monitored on a series by series basis. The scripts of any candidate known to an examiner will, as far as is possible, be marked by another examiner, thereby removing the conflict. Where this is not possible the conflict will be reported at the awarding meeting and subject to scrutiny in accordance with the Awarding meeting agenda.

    Reporting a Conflict of Interest

    Transparency of the Register is itself an important factor in mitigating a conflict of interest. However, there are circumstances when a conflict of interest is such that an individual or organisation involved wishes it to be kept confidential. That wish must be respected, otherwise it will lead to non-reporting of a conflict of interest. In that circumstance, the conflict should be reported direct to the Chair of the PEB Governance Board (rather than to the Operations Manager) who will treat the matter in confidence, seek external advice if appropriate, and decide what action, if any, is to be taken and what concerns, if any, can be reported to the Governance Board or other members of the PEB.

    Individuals are advised to err on the side of caution – if you are considering whether something might be a conflict of interest, then report it.


    Appendix I

    Organisational Conflicts of Interest The Role of the PEB

    The primary role of the PEB is to provide qualifying examinations for persons seeking entry on to the Register of Patent Attorneys under the Patent and Trade Mark Attorney Qualification and Registration Regulations [2009] of the Intellectual Property Regulator (IPReg).

    IPReg

    To fulfil its primary role, the PEB must be an accredited examination agency providing Foundation Certificate and Final Diploma Level examinations (Qualifying Examinations) under the IPReg Examination and Admission Rules 2011.

    There is potential for IPReg itself to seek to influence the operation of the PEB at various levels. So far as that is to ensure that the PEB works with IPReg to assist IPReg in fulfilling its published regulatory role (particularly with respect to content and standards of the Qualifying Examinations), the influence would seem to be right and proper.

    It is important that any decisions by the PEB and its members which are potentially influenced by the PEB’s perception of its relationship with IPReg are properly documented.

    Accordingly, the Governance Board considers that it is of primary importance to ensure that its dealings with IPReg are open and, in particular, that any changes to the content or standard of the Qualifying Examinations are the result of proper notification or consultation.

    CIPA

    The Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA) is a representative body for, inter alia, UK Registered Patent Attorneys and the PEB is a committee of CIPA.

    Dialogue between CIPA and IPReg during the setting up of the PEB indicated that the operational independence and the governance of the PEB were of crucial importance in the decision to grant Examination agency status. In particular, the PEB must not be influenced by CIPA.

    For reasons of operational economy, the PEB is a Committee of CIPA and CIPA carries the financial risk of the PEB.

    Also, the great majority of the PEB Examination Committee and a minority of the PEB Governance Board are members of CIPA.

    Thus, there is potential for CIPA to influence the PEB on behalf of CIPA and its members.

    A number of fences have been put in place to help ensure the operational independence of the PEB:

    CIPA Council have resolved (1) that:

    • The PEB is to be operationally and financially independent of CIPA Council.
    • The PEB will be self-funding, apart from those start up costs which are met by CIPA.
    • The PEB Governance Board has a majority of lay members, a majority of its lay members must be present at any meeting for it to be quorate, and the Chair must be selected from the lay members.
    • The PEB operational staff are employed by CIPA, but their employment contracts stipulate that when engaged on work for the PEB they will take instructions only from the PEB Governance Board.

    Whilst, as with IPReg, the PEB is plainly open to dialogue with CIPA on matters relating to PEB assessments and standards, it is important that any such communication is open and its influence on any PEB decisions is properly recorded.

    Employers, Students, Informals

    Students and their employers are the customers of the PEB and so their concerns are always a factor in any decision of the PEB and so it is not apparent that there is any likelihood of a conflict of interest arising from dealings with them at a generic level.

    The Informals is a representative body for student members of CIPA. . The Informals committee is a source of information and feedback for the PEB. It is important that any communication with the Informals is open and its influence on any PEB decision is properly recorded.


    Appendix II

    Individual Conflicts of Interest

    Some individual conflicts of interest are generic to a person’s role in the PEB and so far as possible the recording and mitigation of such conflicts should be managed.

    Operational Members

    Operational members are employed by CIPA. Appointment of Consultants

    Operational members are responsible for engaging outside consultants and should follow the agreed policy for this process. Any departure from the policy should be reported to the Chair of the Governance Board.

    Appointment of Examination Committee Members

    Operational members are responsible for engaging examination committee members and should follow the agreed policy for this process. Any departure from the policy should be reported to the Governance Board.

    Examination Committee Members

    Examination committee members enter into written contracts with CIPA.

    Many examination committee (EC) members have sight of examination papers during the drafting stage and are also responsible for marking answer scripts and moderating results. Although paid for their services, the motivation of the EC members is primarily one of ‘giving something back’ to the profession.

    EC members are often individuals who have an interest in training. As such, they will likely train students at their place of employment and also may deliver training courses. This presents two clear risks:

    • The risk that knowledge of the content of an examination paper will influence the delivery of training in the lead up to an examination.
    • The risk that an answer script will be marked unfairly (even if subconsciously so) if the examiner knows the candidate.

    Some examination bodies deal with this by prohibiting the examiner from taking part in any such training activities. Other bodies, particularly academic bodies, rely on the integrity of the examiners – for example when the examiner is delivering a course and then examining on it. However, in the latter case, the ‘conflict’ applies equally to all students on a course.

    EC members need to have a demonstrable experience and interest in the training and qualification process in order to have credibility and in order to contribute fully to the examination process. The patent profession is a small profession. If EC members were prohibited from taking part in training

    it would severely limit the ability of the PEB to recruit EC members from within the profession and could result in an EC which is seen as being out of touch.

    Thus (as was the case under the Joint Examination Board), EC members are allowed to train students personally and to give training courses.

    The likelihood of an EC member consciously coaching a candidate for a prepared examination paper is considered to be very small. The consequences for the EC member’s professional career would be severe. Nevertheless, precautions should be taken.

    The EC members enter into a written contract with the PEB which requires, inter alia, that any actual or potential conflict of interest is notified to the PEB. This includes notifying the PEB of any candidate who has been trained personally by the EC member and providing a list of any training course delivered by the EC member (but not a list of persons receiving a recorded webinar lecture given by the EC member) (2).

    The following mitigating procedures apply to all EC members:

    • An EC member will notify the PEB of any candidate being trained personally by the EC member.
    • When an EC member delivers a training course in the year leading up to an examination, the names of the attendees will be sought by the PEB, along with a copy of the course materials3. Where training is delivered to student members of a large firm, it may be more appropriate to identify the firm itself.
    • When an EC member delivers a lecture relating to an examination, the PEB offers an (optional) checking or materials service to any examiner who would like an opinion on the materials they intend to use.
    • Candidate names are not revealed to EC members. Answer scripts are only identified by a unique 5 digit candidate number.
    • In the case of the Foundation Certificate Examinations which are marked by a single examiner, the answer scripts for candidates named in (1 and 2) will be reviewed by the Chief Examiner, or by another examiner if the conflict is with the Chief Examiner.
    • In the case of Final Diploma Examinations (which are double blind marked), the answer scripts for candidates named in (1 and 2) will be allocated to different examiner(s).
    • All examiners are subject to confidentiality clauses in their contract.
    • All examiners are issued with instructions which contain an appendix entitled: Advice and Guidance for Examiners who teach, train or mentor.

    Governance Board Members

    Governance Board members have entered into written contracts with CIPA.

    The risk register is reviewed at each quarterly meeting of the Governance Board and so issues of actual or potential risk for GB members are inherently more open to view.

    GB Patent Attorney Members

    The GB believes that it is important to the reputation of the PEB, particularly among members of the patent attorney profession, that there are patent attorney members on the GB and that they take as full a part as possible in the discussions and decisions of the GB.

    On matters relating to the assessment of individuals, the risks are similar to those for EC members because the GB members will have access to examination papers before they are sat.

    Although GB members do not (ordinarily) mark examination papers, they may be called upon to discuss an individual outcome. Whilst such discussions will normally be anonymised (i.e. the candidate will not be known to the GB), the GB member should mention if he/she can identify the candidate or firm concerned so that the GB can consider whether to exclude the GB member from the discussion.

    Additionally, where the GB Patent Attorney member provides training or lectures, the information outlined above for EC members will be also provided by the GB member.

    GB Patent Attorney members may be members of other CIPA committees and such memberships should be identified on the risk register.

    Where a GB Patent Attorney member has been a member of CIPA Council or IPReg, this should be identified on the risk register.

    Current and former employers or partnerships of the GB Patent Attorney member should be recorded on the risk register.

    Where the PA member is attending an awarding meeting, candidates from their firm or otherwise declared to the PEB, will be identified (by number) for scrutiny in accordance with the awarding meeting agenda.

    GB Lay members

    Lay members are less likely to have personal knowledge of candidates or firms. Nevertheless, the same considerations as for patent attorney members can be applied to the lay members.
    In relation to the above, the mitigation and/or prohibition can be determined and recorded by the GB at the point of discussion.

    Other Awarding Bodies

    Inherently, the PEB is a commercial organisation (it is required at least to break even on its finances). For this reason, GB members should identify any association with other awarding bodies in the intellectual property field.


    (1) CIPA Council Resolution of 7 August 2013

    (2) Informals lectures are recorded and distributed electronically so it is not practicable to track attendees after the live event.

    (3) The main problem here is that if a paper includes a topic which is rarely covered – care must be taken to ensure that it is not suddenly covered or emphasised by the lecturer. The proper mitigation here is to ensure that there is rotational coverage of the syllabus.

  • Qualifying Examinations (QE)

    These regulations are effective from 30 May 2016.


    Qualification purpose

    As an IPReg accredited Examination Agency, the PEB provides, in relation to the admission of an individual to the patent attorney register kept under section 275 of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 as amended, Qualifying Examinations (QE), consisting of five Foundation Certificate and four Final Diploma examinations, as laid down in the Patent Attorney and Trade Mark Attorney Qualification and Registration Regulations 2009 and the Rules for the Examination and Admission of Individuals to the Registers of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys 2011.


    Syllabus for the examinations

    The QE syllabi give details of the content of the five Foundation Certificate and four Final Diploma examinations.


    Eligibility

    The Foundation Certificate examinations and Final Diploma examinations Eligibility Policy can be read on the PEB website.


    Application for candidacy

    Applications to take the examinations must be submitted during the published registration period using the PEB QE Registration Form, and applications are subject to the PEB Registration, Payment and Refund Policy, and the PEB Late Examination Entry Policy.

    The correctly completed application form and the correct fee must be received by the PEB by the stated examination registration closing date.


    Reasonable adjustments

    The PEB seeks to ensure fair and equal access to its examinations and operates a Reasonable Adjustments Policy. Details can be found here.


    Policies and procedures

    Qualifying Examinations (QE) PEB Examination Regulations

    The PEB QE examinations are subject to all these regulations and the PEB policies and procedures. In applying to take the PEB QE, a candidate is agreeing to be bound by both these regulations and all the PEB policies and procedures.


    Exemptions

    The QE Exemptions Policy can be read on the PEB website. Dates and frequency of examinations

    The PEB QE examinations will normally be offered once a year. Actual dates will be published here in accordance with the PEB Publishing Key Dates Policy.


    Disruption to an examination

    Should an examination be so disrupted that a meaningful outcome is not possible, the PEB may declare the examination void, and seek to make alternative arrangements for affected candidates.


    Fees

    Fees for the QE examinations are published on the PEB website.


    Publication of results

    Due to GDPR regulations, candidate results will no longer be published on the PEB website.


    Resitting the examination

    Please read the PEB Examination Resit Policy for details about resitting the QE examinations.


    Enquiries about Results

    Any candidate who has failed any examination may choose to apply for an Enquiry about Result in accordance with the stated policy and procedure on the PEB website.


    Quality assurance and governance of the QE

    The QE examinations are administered by the PEB, and are subject to the scrutiny of the PEB Governance Board, in accordance with its governance and quality assurance policies and processes.

    These include the quality of question paper setting, the quality of marking, and the monitoring of standards over time.


    Customer Feedback Policy

    The PEB welcomes customer feedback via its Customer Feedback Policy. Appeals

    The PEB investigates appeals against administrative decisions in accordance with its Appeals Policy.


    Communications

    All communications under these regulations should be addressed to:

    The Patent Examination Board
    The Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys, 2nd Floor Halton House
    20 – 23 Holborn
    London
    EC1N 2JD

    E: [email protected]

  • Introductory Certificate in Patent Administration

    These regulations are effective from 18 May 2016.


    Qualification purpose

    This Patent Examination Board qualification covers the underlying principles, the essential legal background, and the practice of Patent and Design Administration.

    The examination tests the understanding and application of the skills required in the formalities role.


    Syllabus for the examination

    The ICPA syllabus gives details of the content of the course and the examination for this qualification.


    Eligibility

    The ICPA Eligibility Policy can be read on the PEB website.


    Application for candidacy

    Applications to take the examination must be submitted using the PEB ICPA Registration Form, and applications are subject to the PEB Registration, Payment and Refund Policy, and the PEB Late Examination Entry Policy.

    The correctly completed application form and the correct fee must be received by the PEB by the stated examination registration closing date.


    Reasonable Adjustments

    The PEB seeks to ensure fair and equal access to its examinations and operates a Reasonable Adjustments Policy. Details can be found here.


    Policies and procedures

    The PEB ICPA examination is subject to all these regulations and the PEB policies and procedures. In applying to take the PEB ICPA, a candidate is agreeing to be bound by both these regulations and all the PEB policies and procedures.


    Exemptions

    The ICPA Exemptions Policy can be read on the PEB website. Dates and frequency of examinations

    The PEB ICPA examination will normally be offered once a year. Actual dates will be published here in accordance with the PEB Publishing Key Dates Policy.


    Disruption to an examination

    Should an examination be so disrupted that a meaningful outcome is not possible, the PEB may declare the examination void, and will seek to make alternative arrangements for affected candidates.


    Fees

    Fees for the examination are published on the PEB website.


    Resitting the examination

    Please read the PEB Examination Resit Policy for details about resitting the IPAC examination.


    Enquiries about Results

    Any candidate who has failed an examination may choose to apply for an Enquiry about Result in accordance with the stated policy and procedure on the PEB website.


    Quality assurance and governance of the PEB ICPA

    The ICPA examination is administered by the PEB, and is subject to the scrutiny of the PEB Governance Board, in accordance with its governance and quality assurance policies and processes.

    These include a range of assessment related issues including the quality of question paper setting, the quality of marking, and the monitoring of standards over time.


    Customer Feedback Policy

    The PEB welcomes customer feedback via its Customer Feedback Policy.


    Appeals

    The PEB investigates appeals against administrative decisions in accordance with its Appeals Policy.


    Communications

    All communications under these regulations should be addressed to:

    The Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys, 2nd Floor Halton House
    20 – 23 Holborn
    London
    EC1N 2JD

    E: [email protected]

Downloads

The PEB Constitution

Constitution

The PEB Governance Board Terms of Reference

Constitution

The PEB Examination Committee Terms of Reference

Constitution

The PEB Conflict of Interest Policy

Constitution

PEB Qualifying Examinations

Regulations

Introductory Certificate in Patent Administration

Regulations

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