13. Useful resources and training material

13. Useful resources and training material

We provide below a list of resources that you may find useful throughout your training, whether you are completely new to the profession or are preparing to sit final exams. This information is also available on the “useful links” page of the Yellow Sheet blog.

If you come across a book, website or course which you find useful that is not included on this list, please let us know and we’ll consider adding it to this booklet when it is next updated.

Topics in this section fall under the following headings:

i. General Resources
ii. Other bodies
iii. Resources for UK Exam Preparation and Day‐to‐Day UK work
iv. Resources for EQE Preparation and Day‐to‐Day EP work
v. Resources for Design and Copyright Law
vi. Resources for PCT International Law and Foreign Jurisdictions
vii. Resources for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

I. General Resources

• CIPA Journal — Once you are a student member of CIPA, you will be sent a copy of the CIPA Journal each month. It contains reports on recent court cases, information on changes in patent law across the world, and CIPA news.
• Yellow Sheet newsletter and blog — The Informals Committee’s newsletter is distributed with the CIPA Journal each month. In between paper newsletters, the blog is used to provide further updates. The newsletter and blog provide details of forthcoming lectures, tutorials, social and sports events, and any other information particularly relevant to trainees.
• The CIPA website — An invaluable source of information. Includes details of upcoming seminars and social events, recent changes to patent law and much more.
• The EPO website – Another invaluable source. Includes official EPO notices and Appeal Board decisions, as well as details of the European patent system and the European Patent Convention (EPC) itself. You’ll become intimately familiar with the Guidelines for Examination, which can also be found on this website.
• The Official Journal of the EPO — A source of official information and general notices from the EPO, and of other information relevant to the EPC or its implementation.

II. Other Bodies

Intellectual Property Regulation Board (IPReg)

The Intellectual Property Regulation Board (IPReg) was set up by the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA) and the Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys (ITMA) to undertake the regulation of the patent attorney and trade mark attorney professions, after changes to the Legal Services Act necessitated an independent regulatory body.

IPReg is responsible for setting the education and training requirements for qualification as a patent attorney and a trade mark attorney, setting the requirements for continuous professional development (CPD), setting and maintaining the Code of Conduct for the professions and handling complaints of professional misconduct against patent and trade mark attorneys (and where appropriate taking disciplinary or other action).

Chartered Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys (CITMA)

CITMA is the professional body for trade mark attorneys in the United Kingdom. “The Chartered Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys, which was founded in 1934 and chartered in 2016, promotes high standards of training, qualification and continued learning in order to ensure that the Trade Mark Attorney profession is able to undertake on behalf of clients, large and small, all of the work associated with securing and protecting trademarks and other intellectual property rights, for example registered designs, both in the UK and abroad”
[Source: CITMA website].

Patent Examination Board (PEB)

The Patent Examination Board (PEB) is an independent committee of CIPA and is responsible for setting and marking the UK qualifying examination papers (Foundation and Final examinations), for revising the syllabi, and for setting and marking the Litigation Skills Course exams which lead to the Basic Litigation Certificate. PEB runs UK qualifying examinations every year, generally in October.

Professional qualifications for UK patent attorneys comprise nine examinations; five at Foundation level and four at Final level. Currently, in order to become a Registered Patent Attorney (RPA) you must: (a) pass or be exempted from the Foundation level examinations, (b) pass the Final level examinations, and (c) satisfy any service requirements which have been set by The Intellectual Property Regulation Board (IPReg). More information about the examinations, as well as FAQs and past examination papers, can be found on the PEB website.

The Institute of Professional Representatives before the European Patent Office (epi)

The Institute of Professional Representatives before the European Patent Office (also known as the European Patent Institute or epi) is a professional association of European patent attorneys and an international non-governmental public law corporation. It was founded on October 21, 1977 by the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation. All European Patent Attorneys, i.e. all persons entitled to act as professional representatives before the EPO (by virtue of passing the European qualifying examination (EQE)), are members of the Institute.

Trainees preparing for the European qualifying examination (EQE) may become epi student members (see the website for more information.

Currently, each student is entitled to receive their own copy of “European qualifying examination — Guide for preparation”, receive an issue of the quarterly magazine “epi Information”, and a 50% reduction on course fees of epi educational events, such as tutorials, mock EQE papers and seminars.

IP Inclusive

IP Inclusive is a collection of individuals and organisations in the intellectual property (IP) sector, who have come together to make our community more inclusive, diverse, open and fair. See their Our Mission Statement — IP Inclusive.

The initiative is run by the sector, for the sector on a voluntary basis. It brings together IP professionals of all types, at all levels of seniority, from all kinds of working environments and in all parts of the UK. Meet the current team to get involved or find out how you can help.

Mostly, they work by sharing best practices, providing training, running events and providing resources to help people promote diversity and inclusion — including through their Careers in Ideas outreach campaign for young people who may be interested in a career in IP. The events and resources are free at the point of delivery; there’s no paywall. But they do ask all their supporters to give what they can to keep the initiative going: if you can contribute, please visit the fundraising page.

They also provide safe spaces where everybody can feel involved and valued. In particular they have (currently) six communities supporting diverse groups in the IP sector:

• BAME professionals (IP & ME)
• Disabled professionals and carers (IP Ability)
• Early-career professionals (IP Futures)
• Solo parents and other non-traditional family members (IP Non-traditional Family Network)
• LGBT+ professionals (IP Out)
• Women (Women in IP)

All six are open to allies and partner organisations as well.

III. Resources for UK Exam Preparation and Day-to-Day UK Work

Legal Texts

• The Patents Act 1977
  This sets out the requirements for patent applications, how the patent granting process should operate, and the law relating to disputes concerning patents. It also sets out how UK law relates to the European Patent Convention (EPC) and the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).
• The Patents Rules 2007
  These set out the detailed procedures to implement the Patents Act 1977.

Useful material in your first year, and preparing for Foundations

• The PEB website — Valuable information pertaining to exams run by the Patent Examination Board. Includes all notices released by the PEB, exam regulations, past exam papers, exam syllabi, exam results, and contact information.
• The CIPA Training Manuals — CIPA produces a Patents Training Manual, a Foundation Level Training Manual on Trade Mark Law, and a Designs and Copyright Training Manual. Further details can be found at here.
• Informals Foundation lectures — every year the Informals Foundation Lecture Organiser arranges a series of lectures that address various topics relevant to a new patent attorney trainee.
• The Manual of Patent Practice (MoPP) — this explains how the UK Patent Office puts the Patents Act 1977 into practice. The Manual is updated regularly to reflect recent developments in law. Note, the MoPP is not a set of legal requirements.
• The JDD Consultants run revision courses to help prepare for all UK papers.

Useful material when preparing for Finals

• Drafting Manuals — CIPA contributes to and/or publishes a number of textbooks and manuals, including Fundamentals of Patent Drafting by Paul Cole. Further details can be found here.
• CIPA publications for the Final papers — Study Guide to the Patents Acts (Doug Ealey), Infringement and Validity: CIPA FD4 Study Guide (Nigel Frankland), Amendment of Specifications: CIPA FD3 Study Guide (Tim Allsop), and CIPA Study Guide to FD2: Drafting of Specifications (Iain Russell).
• When you’re preparing for the FD1 (previously P2) PEB paper, you might like to join Doug Ealey’s P2 (FD1) Study Guide group on LinkedIn® which has information on when the new version of the study guide is released and allows students to discuss past paper questions with each other. Visit the LinkedIn® group here.
• Loki’s Patent Blog.
• CIPA lectures on each of the four Finals papers,

1. 1. FD1 — Advice for FD1 (P2) Candidates and Mentors can be found here.
   2. FD2 — Advice for FD2 (P3) Candidates can be found here.
   3. FD3 — An overview and practical guide to the UK Final Amendment of Specifications Paper can be found here.
   4. FD4 — For Trainees 2021, visit here.

• The Manual of Patent Practice (MoPP)
• The JDD Consultants run revision courses to help prepare for all UK papers JDD Consultants.
• Barnes IP Training run FD4 courses Intellectual Property Training Courses.
• Informals Tutorials.

Additional resources

• The “Black Book” — A staple for every patent attorney’s desk — your firm probably has the latest copy in the library. This is also known as the CIPA Guide to the UK Patents Acts. It contains a section-by-section guide to the Patents Act 1977 and relevant provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, provides extensive commentary on the interpretation of each section by the UKIPO and courts, and on relevant case law of the EPO Boards of Appeal, and acts as a practical guide to the current requirements and procedures before the UKIPO and the UK courts.

IV. Resources for EQE Preparation and Day-to-Day EP Work

The Legal Texts

• The European Patent Convention (EPC) — this sets out the requirements for patent applications, how the patent-granting process should operate, and the law relating to oppositions of granted European patents. It comprises the EPC Articles and the Implementing Regulations (Rules).
• The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) — this sets out the requirements for international patent applications, and how an application progresses through the various phases of the international phase of an international patent application through the PCT. It comprises a (mess) of Articles, Rules, and AI’s.
• The London Agreement — also known as the Agreement on the Application of Article 65 EPC, this is an optional agreement aimed at reducing the costs relating to the translation of European patents.
• Case law of the EPO Boards of Appeal — these are decisions made by the Boards of Appeal on legal and technical matters. G decisions are made by the Enlarged Board of Appeal and are the most important, in the sense that they determine how to interpret the EPC in the broadest sense of the word and are most influential. T decisions are technical board of appeal matters that often deal with individual cases and their merits. J decisions are legal matters decided by the Board of Appeal. D decisions are appeals before the disciplinary board.

Useful material in year 1-2, and preparing for the pre-exam

• The EPO’s EQE website — this provides information on the EQE including notices from the Examination Board, the compendium of past papers, and enrolment dates as well as the enrolment web portal.
• The EQE Coffee Break questions — these are a series of email questions and answers on aspects of European patent law and practice. The questions could form part of your training for the EQE pre-examination. The questions are short and should each only take between 5 and 15 minutes to answer. There are around 50 questions.
• The European Patent Academy — Preparing for the EQE pre-examination paper course is an online course that covers all aspects of the EPC. The course includes articles, quizzes and live sessions with tutors.
• The Guidelines for Examination — these give instructions on the practice and procedure to be followed in the examination and opposition of European patent applications and patents. Note, the Guidelines do not constitute legal provisions, but are what the Examiner’s follow when writing those pesky A94(3) office actions.
• An up-to-date copy of an annotated guide to the European Patent Convention (EPC). The books published annually by Derk Visser and Jelle Hoekstra (References to the European Patent Convention, deltapatents.com) are popular among trainees preparing for the pre-examination or main EQEs. They are also useful reference texts for day-to-day prosecution work.
• Delta Patents pre-Exam book provides model solutions to past papers. Pre-Exam Cases and (mock)Exams.
• CEIPI (Centre d’Études Internationales de la Propriété Intellectuelle) run various courses to prepare students for the pre-exam and main EQEs.

Useful material when preparing for EQEs

• The IP.appify team have the EPC.app and PCT.app self-editable commentaries on the EPC and PCT, respectively. Users can edit the already provided commentary with their own notes during revision and order the book printed so it can be taken with you into the EQE exams. For more information, see the book review from former Hon. Sec. Joel David Briscoe, here.
• The Salted Patent blog is written by an EPA and tutor in EPC and PCT law. The blog contains information on what to take to the EQEs and provides possible solutions to past papers.
• The DeltaPatents blog separately covers each of the pre-exam and the four Main exams, including the DeltaPatents team’s answers to exam papers before the official answers are released.
• The Fillun EQE blog is written by a recently qualified attorney, sharing their tips, templates and tables for the main exams.
• An up-to-date copy of an annotated guide to the European Patent Convention (EPC). The book published annually by Derk Visser (see here) or by Jelle Hoekstra (see here) are popular among trainees preparing for the pre-examination or main EQE. They are also useful reference texts for day-to-day prosecution work.
• CEIPI (Centre d’Études Internationales de la Propriété Intellectuelle) runs various courses to prepare students for the pre-exam and main EQEs.
• The JDD Consultants EQE revision courses.
• The Queen Mary University EQE training course.
• The Delta Patents training courses and revision books.
• The EPO’s E-Learning Centre of the European Patent Academy.
• The European Patent Institute (epi) has useful information on preparing for the EQE, as well as the rules and regulations regarding enrolment for the exams.
• Informals Tutorials.
• Case Law of the EPO Boards of Appeal — this advanced book provides summaries of cases and decisions of the Boards of Appeal and is useful for trainees preparing for the main EQEs.

See also section H.VI below for PCT materials, as the PCT is included in the scope of the EQE.

V. Resources for Design and Copyright Law

In the UK

• The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act (CDPA) 1988 Statutory law relating to intellectual property in general.
• Design Right Rules. Rules for implementing the UK unregistered design right. The Design Right (Proceedings before Comptroller) Rules 1989.
• Registered Designs Act 1949 and Rules. Statutory provisions and implementing rules for UK registered designs.
• GOV guidance on changes to unregistered designs following Brexit.
• The Designs and International Trade Marks (Amendment etc.) (E.U. Exit) Regulations 2019. This Statutory Instrument contains post-Brexit and transitional UK design law provisions, including the implementation of supplementary UK design right and continuing UK design right.

In the EU

• The Community Design Regulation. Essential legal provisions for community (E.U.) design rights.
• The Community Design Implementing Regulation. Regulations for implementing Community design rights.
• The E.U. Directive 98/71/EC on the legal protection of designs. E.U. directive providing the basis for Community design protection.
• OHIM guidance on the impact of Brexit in the E.U. Guidance from the E.U. on the impact of Brexit on Community design rights.
• The E.U. legal documents above can be accessed via the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) website at the following link: Community design legal texts.

VI. Resources for PCT International Law and Foreign Jurisdictions

• PCT Treaty, Regulations and Administrative Instructions Essential provisions and regulations for PCT law. PCT Treaty, Regulations and Administrative Instructions, see here.
• Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property. The provisions of the Paris Convention regarding inter alia priority right.
• The PCT Applicant’s Guide. A condensed, cross-referenced guide to the PCT and common questions that arise during the international and national phase.
• National Law relating to the EPC. Extensive categorised tables of the most important provisions and requirements of the relevant national law in the EPC contracting states. Take note of the left-hand sidebar for full contents when using the HTML version.
• The Cross-Referenced Patent Cooperation Treaty. Reference book covering the Patent Cooperation Treaty and the Regulations under the PCT. Cross-references are provided between the articles and rules.
• The “Brown Book”. Also known as the Manual for Handling of Applications for Patents, Designs and Trade Marks throughout the World. It should be found in your firm’s library, and it is a useful guide to IP laws in other countries. It can also be accessed online with a subscription.
• PCT.App and the Complete PCT Applicant’s Guide. Annotated study guide copies of PCT law and the PCT Applicant’s Guide. Complete PCT Applicants Guide (fireballpatents.com).