Education and

The Patent Examination Board (PEB) is a committee of the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys but is unique among CIPA’s committees in that it operates independently of Council and is governed by its own Governance Board. 

The Governance Board of the Patent Examination Board (PEB) continued to focus on progressing work on its Response to IPReg’s Final Diploma (FD) Re-Accreditation Report which set out 19 Requirements and two Recommendations. The resulting re-design of the four FD unit syllabi and examinations has also taken into account the recommendations of the Mercer Review.

The PEB carried out an extensive consultation on the proposed changes. The first phase comprised an online survey in July and August, following which the survey analysis and the PEB’s Response to the Survey were published on the PEB website. The second phase of the consultation followed publication of specimen assessment materials. Stakeholders were invited to forward feedback to a dedicated email address. A range of responses was received from firms, patent attorneys writing as individuals and a small number of candidates.

Feedback received has broadly welcomed the planned changes. The PEB is analysing and considering the feedback and will continue to refine and test the assessment approach.

For candidates and employers, the most important outcome is that subject to IPReg’s final approval of (1) the PEB’s Response to its Requirements and Recommendations, (2) the revised syllabi and (3) the proposed examination format, the revised suite of Final Diploma syllabi will be examined for the first time in October 2026.

The PEB wishes, once again, to express its gratitude and appreciation to all stakeholders who have provided feedback.

Examination prizes

Following the publication of the 2023 PEB examination results and the Introductory Certificate in Patent Administration for 2023-24, Council awarded the prizes listed below.

• The Gill Prize for the candidate achieving the highest aggregate mark in the Final Diploma examinations (FD1, FD2, FD3 and FD4):
  Toby Hill (Mewburn Ellis)
• The Strode Prize for the candidate achieving the highest mark in the FD1 examination Advanced IP Law and Practice:
  Joseph Goldman (Keltie)
• The Drafting Prize for the candidate achieving the highest mark in the FD2 examination Drafting of Specifications:
  Darena Slavova (Mewburn Ellis)
• The Moss Prize for the candidate achieving the highest aggregate mark in the FC1 and FC3 examinations UK Patent Law and International Patent Law:
  Fabian Carson (Potter Clarkson)
• The Mike Higgins Prize for the candidates achieving the highest mark in the FC4 examination Design and Copyright Law:
  Bovey Zheng (Marks & Clerk), James Cosgrove and Thomas Cox (Haseltine Lake Kempner)
• The Ballantyne Prize for the candidate achieving the highest mark in FD4 examination Infringement and Validity:
  David Thompson (Carpmaels & Ransford)
• The Keith Farwell Prize for the candidate achieving the highest mark in the FC5 examination Trade Mark Law:
  Oliver Rigg (Haseltine Lake Kempner)
• The Michael Jones Prize for the candidate achieving the highest mark in the FD3 examination Amendment of Specifications:
  Toby Hill (Mewburn Ellis)
• The Chris Gibson Prize for the candidate achieving the highest mark in the FC2 examination English Law:
  Saiyed Sadiq (Dolleymores)
• The Brown Prize for the candidates achieving the highest mark in the Introductory Certificate in Patent Administration:
  Carrie Clarke (External Candidate); Ann-Marie Bowen (Murgitroyd); Demitra Dias (Carpmaels & Ransford); Cara McAtee (Albright IP); Nadirahakther Miah (Kilburn & Strode)