EQE 2025: Reformed and ready for the future

The EPO is transforming the way patent practitioners are trained and tested. With a redesigned format and new content, the modernised European Qualifying Examination gives candidates the chance to demonstrate their legal knowledge and skills to prepare them for the real-world challenges they’ll face. 

In this 4-episode podcast series, published from September onwards, you will hear experts discuss the reasons for this reform as well as learn about its benefits for candidates. We’ll go into detail about what this reformed approach looks like and explore how next year’s new Paper F will help candidates with mastering the legal foundations they will rely on during their entire career. 

Subscribe to “Talk innovation: patent professional edition”

Register now for the Paper F preparatory course 

EQE on epo.org

EQE guide for preparation

Reflections on the first year

The new Unitary Patent system has been in operation

Moderator: Jeremy Philpott, EPO Communications manager

Guest: Marek Bury, European patent attorney, partner at Bury and Bury in Warsaw

Almost 8% of patent filings at the EPO in 2023 were for computer technology, which includes the rapidly growing field of artificial intelligence. But which types of AI are growing especially fast and why? What do experts mean when they say that 2024 is the year of the embodiment of AI? And could the next superantibiotic be designed by AI?  

Moderator: 

Jeremy Philpott, EPO Communications manager 

Guests:  

Wiebke Hinrichs, EPO patent examiner 

André Fonseca dos Santos, EPO patent examiner 

EPO's Patent Index 2023

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Is offshore wind energy the key to solving the climate crisis? A recent joint report reveals insightful findings, highlighting challenges and opportunities in this growing sector. Join study authors from the European Patent Office and International Renewable Energy Agency as they discuss this clean energy source.  

Full report

Guests: 

Francisco Boshell, Head Innovation and End Use Applications, IRENA 

Jaidev Dhavle, Associate Programme Officer, Innovation for the Energy Transition, IRENA 

Johannes Schaaf, EPO patent intelligence expert 

Moderator: 

Geert Boedt, EPO patent data analyst 

When dealing with disability, is gene therapy an ethical solution? Can technology encourage a more equitable world? Does society truly listen to people with a disability?

In this special edition, we’ll meet several authors seeking answers to these complex questions. We’ll hear their creations before learning about the inspiration behind each tale. "Who am I?" by Brian Routledge, "L’ Expo" by Christophe Poizat and "Mosaïque" by Paule Gilis were the winning entries in EPO’s writing competition on the theme disability and innovation. The contest was open to all staff and formed part of our celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the European Patent Convention. Brian’s story also won the 2023 essay competition organised by the Brain journal and is published there (link below).   

⁠"Who am I" by Brian Routledge on epo.org⁠

⁠"Who am I" by Brian Routledge in the "Brain" Journal⁠

⁠"The exhibition" by Christophe Poizat on epo.org⁠

⁠"Mosaic" by Paule Gilis on epo.org⁠

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The EPO's latest study reveals massive global advances in diagnostics and treatments, with universities and public research institutes playing a major role. Innovation against cancer is growing rapidly and the wealth of free patent information in the EPO's newest technology platform is helping scientists to make more breakthroughs.  

Read the key findings

Access the Technologies combatting cancer platform

Guests: 

Laurent Deleu, Patent examiner, European Patent Office   

IIlja Rudyk, Senior economist, European Patent Office  

Moderator: 

Jeremy Philpott, Communications manager, European Patent Office 

Hear what three of our users have to say about switching to the digital patent granting process with the help of our new generation of online MyEPO services. 

Moderated by Richard Garvey, Key Account Manager at the EPO and with the participation of Zhakalazky Carrion, Senior Manager Docketing & Client Records, and Alexis Dagostino, Docketing & Client Records Coordinator both at at Schwegman Lundberg & Woessner; Christophe Ego, Patent Attorney at Winger and Kieran Donnelly, MyEPO Business Change Manager at the EPO.

More about MyEPO services

How are European startups using patents and trade marks to raise finance? The high failure rates of promising startups are often linked to their cashflow problems, so this a topic of critical importance for Europe’s economy. The authors of a recent study discuss their findings with regard to patents, trade marks and startup finance.

Guests:          

Yann Ménière, Chief Economist, European Patent Office

Nathan Wajsman, Chief Economist, EU Intellectual Property Office

Moderator:  Jeremy Philpott, manager in Communications, European Patent Office

⁠Access our study⁠

Additive manufacturing (AM) is a disruptive technology coming of age. The EPO’s latest study reveals explosion in global patenting activity in 3D printing and other forms of AM, now being deployed in construction, healthcare and transport.

Patent filings for AM inventions are increasing at eight times the rate across all technologies, as AM comes out of its niche as a prototyping tool and enters the mainstream at the centre of manufacturing.

Moderator:

Jeremy Philpott (Communications manager, EPO)

Guests:

Ilja Rudyk (Senior Economist, EPO) and Judy Ceulemans (Senior Expert, EPO)

Download the study

More about additive manufacturing on our website

Meeting virtually for an after-work chat in the European Patent Bar, judge Dr Matthias Zigann and attorney Grégoire Desrousseaux discuss “Adaptation of the description”. This requirement of the patent grant process at the EPO has provoked a variety of opinions amongst the

 Dr Zigann is Presiding Judge at the Higher Regional Court in Munich, as well as Presiding Judge of the Local Division (Munich) of the Unified Patent Court. Mr Desrousseaux is a French litigator, European patent attorney and partner at August Debouzy in Paris. The views of