Patent Examination Board
Welcome to the Patent Examination Board website. We hope you will find the information here helpful whether you are taking the Qualifying Examinations for a patent attorney or the Examination for the Introductory Certificate in Patent Administration.
The Regulations, Policies and Procedures sections of this website include important documents which you must read before sitting any examinations.
Past papers, syllabi and other useful information are found in the Support section. You may also find that the Communications and FAQS sections answer many of the questions you may have.
Qualifying Examinations for a Patent Attorney
The Intellectual Property Regulator (IPReg) defines the requirements which a candidate must satisfy to be registered as a patent attorney. More information on these requirements can be found in the relevant sections of the IPReg website named 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.
There are two separate stages to the qualification – a foundation stage and a final stage – and IPReg accredits examination agencies to deliver courses and/or examinations which meet their standards.
The Patent Examination board is an examination agency which has been accredited by IPReg to offer an examination-only route for both stages of the qualification.
- The PEB Foundation Certificate comprises of five examinations which meet the standards and syllabus defined in the IPReg Accreditation Handbook. Further details are set out in the Programme Specification for the Foundation Certificate which is found here.
- The PEB Final Diploma comprises four examinations and is designed to meet the requirements of the final stage of training for a patent attorney. A successful candidate will be at least minimally competent in, and thus fit to practise, each of the skills tested by the examinations.
Training for the examinations is provided by employers, The Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys and commercial providers.
Examination for the Introductory Patent Administration Certificate
The Introductory Patent Administration Certificate comprises a course run by The Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys and an examination at the end of the course administered by PEB.
A candidate is taught and examined on the underlying principles, the essential legal background and the practice of Patent and Design Administration. More information on the course and syllabus are found here on the CIPA website.