The Patent Examination Board 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 2024 European Qualifying Examination (‘EQE’) results, published in July, show that UK-based candidates significantly outperformed their European peers. Of 193 UK candidates, 116 passed, giving a pass rate of around 60%, compared with 36% for Germany (177/495), 33% for France (34/104) and 44% for the Netherlands (25/57).
This continues a long-standing trend in which UK candidates achieve higher success rates than those in other large European countries, a trend often attributed to strong domestic training and alignment with the EQE format.
The pass rates for the 2024 Patent Examination Board UK examinations were published in spring. At foundation level, results were relatively strong, with pass rates ranging from 70.21% (FC5) to 94.12% (FC4), and most papers exceeding 75%, showing that candidates performed well in core legal knowledge subjects.
The Final Diploma papers showed greater variability and difficulty. Pass rates ranged from 36.00% (FD2) to 78.64% (FD3), with FD1 and FD4 both just above 50%. Overall, the results confirmed that while foundation examinations maintain high success rates, the final papers remained more challenging.
Examination prizes
Following the publication of the 2024 PEB examination results and the Introductory Certificate in Patent Administration for 2024-25, Council awarded the prizes listed below.
The Strode Prize for the candidate achieving the highest mark in the FD1 examination Advanced IP Law and Practice: Matthew Barton (Mewburn Ellis LLP, Bristol).
The Drafting Prize for the candidate achieving the highest mark in the FD2 examination Drafting of Specifications: Amelia Jones (Mewburn Ellis LLP, Manchester).
The Michael Jones Prize for the candidate achieving the highest mark in the FD3 examination Amendment of Specifications: Matthew Barton (Mewburn Ellis LLP, Bristol).
The Ballantyne Prize for the candidate achieving the highest mark in FD4 examination Infringement and Validity: Elizabeth Edwards (Murgitroyd & Co, Southampton).
The Gill Prize for the candidate achieving the highest aggregate mark in the Final Diploma examinations (FD1, FD2, FD3 and FD4): Matthew Barton (Mewburn Ellis LLP, Bristol).
The Moss Prize for the candidate achieving the highest aggregate mark in the FC1 and FC3 examinations UK Patent Law and International Patent Law: Alia Tayer (Appleyard Lees IP LLP, Halifax).
The Chris Gibson Prize for the candidate achieving the highest mark in the FC2 examination English Law: Niamh Jackson (Lincoln IP, Glasgow).
The Mike Higgins Prize for the candidate achieving the highest mark in the FC4 examination Design and Copyright Law: Lucy Philip (Swindell & Pearson Ltd, Derby)
The Keith Farwell Prize for the candidate achieving the highest mark in the FC5 examination Trade Mark Law: Lucy Philip (Swindell & Pearson Ltd, Derby).
The Brown Prize for the candidates achieving the highest mark in the Introductory Certificate in Patent Administration: Caoimhe Murphy (EIP Europe LLP, London); Louise West (JA Kemp LLP, London)..
Prof Duncan Matthews
Director of Research, Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary University of London
“CIPA’s commitment to education and training for the profession is exceptional. CIPA demonstrates careful planning and clear strategic thinking to enhance the knowledge and skills of the profession through the provision of high-quality learning opportunities. CIPA’s willingness to partner with providers in the higher education sector underpins this success, and I am proud to have worked with CIPA to achieve its goals over the past 23 years.”