D1

Unfortunately, there are no magic tricks for D1, start studying and/or practicing as much as possible. Each D1 question is completely different and also separate (and some of them will be about PCT).

I don’t know about you, but it is very difficult for me to study just by sitting and reading. It is so much easier to study by answering actual legal questions.

In my opinion, you should aim to answer at least 1-2 legal questions every single day until the EQE. There are plenty of sources, such as EPO Daily D questions, Coffee break questions, EPI D questions (if you are an EPI student), DeltaPatents books (Basic Legal Questions and Main Exam Questions for Paper D). There must be hundreds of questions that you can use. I have collected many links, check here.

A few things to remember:

• There are no trick questions in Paper D.

• Do not summarize the question again in your answer. Full waste of time.

• Do not write full sentences, use bullet point style. you can also shorten the names of the applicant’s and inventions. It is not only shorter for you but much easier to correct for the marker.

• Remember to always read the question twice, plan your answer and not just start to write. This way, your answer can be easily followed.

• Write clearly and legibly at all times, add legal basis to every statement (each statement is worth around 0.5-1 points, so for a question worth 8 marks you should write about 14 statements).

• Write out time limit calculations any time you are mentioning a time limit.

• Practice as many previous papers as possible before the examination –> this is also important for D2.

• When practicing, make notes of your mistakes! You probably do not realize how important this is.

• If there are explicit questions, do not forget to answer them. It is so obvious and still we tend to forget it many times. If the question asks for example “Can you still reply to the office action?“, do not forget to add Yes/No at the beginning or the end of your answer. I prefer to start with my explicit answer and then writing my arguments.

• Read and answer each D1 question one by one. Do not confuse yourself unnecessarily by reading the questions ahead.

• If you don’t know something, skip it, and answer questions that you know. You can come back to it later, if you still have time. If not, do not worry, at least you spent your time on answers that will gain marks. Lots of people who do not have time to finish the Paper still pass, so it is OK.

D2

As I mentioned above, D2 is about giving a clear advice to a client after analyzing his complex patent situation. The client’s letter is quite long, but every single sentence is important and was included in the Paper with purpose. There are no tricks there.

While the exact questions can differ, they usually concern the following topics:

1. Situation as is
Describe the current situation (what is the situation now, who gets the patent if we do not change anything, is the priority valid, etc.) –> this part is usually worth 30-50% of the marks for D2!

2. Improvements
What are the problems (about 10% of the marks), what kind of improvements are possible, which one do you suggest (about 20% of the marks) and what steps have to be taken (about 20% of the marks)
You have to help the client, fight for the client such that his patent situation improves.

3. Situation after (exploitation)
Describe the situation after the suggested improvements (who owns the patent rights, licensing agreements, etc.). There might be also some specific questions to answer (for example client has a business meeting next month, what should he do).

Please do not forget the definition of patent; it is really important for Paper D2. You cannot simply say that claim covering product X is granted so client is free to sell/produce/use/market product X. A patent does not give right to freely sell/produce/use/market a product but only to exclude others from selling/producing/using/marketing the patented product.

In D2, there is definitely a lot of writing. However, you can use bullet point style here as well.

Regarding D2, it is even more important that you practise as many earlier papers as you can, since each of them cover different legal aspects. Each D2 covers about 4 legal topics (such as divisional applications, missing parts, partial priority, entitlement, reformation in peius, sufficient disclosure, etc.).

Start doing previous D2 Papers early, do not leave them for January and February. However, regardless how early to start preparing, there still might be things in the exam that you do not know or answer incorrectly. Do not worry, you can still pass! Firstly, as I mentioned, majority of the points are in the first part: describing the as-is situation. For this part, you do not really have to solve any tricks (for example entitlement – entitlement issues do not change the current situation, since the EPO will grant the patent to the applicant on file). Secondly, Paper D2 is designed in a way that you can still gain marks for a legal topic if you had problems regarding another topic.

Similarly to D1, write out every step, don’t just give short conclusions. For D2, no legal basis needs to be cited.

Use a good timeline or table

For D2, you will definitely need a good timeline or table. If you start by reading, understanding and then preparing a good table using all the information, it will be relatively simple to get the points for the first part of the D2 (situation as is).

As you probably know, hand-written notes cannot be filed as part of your answer. Therefore, for D2, even if you use a timeline or table, you cannot hand it in. You will have to fill it with pencil on paper, and type your answer electronically. Alternatively, you can create a table in the WISEflow editor if that is convenient for you. (For some candidates it works quickly, but I preferred my paper table.)

Books to use

As you probably know, similarly to the other exams, you can use any written materials during the main exam. For D2 you do not have to cite legal basis, but you might still use the books for specific questions (double checking deadlines or remedies, etc.).

You can find a summary of EPC reference books and PCT reference books on my EQE blog.

According to the EPO, the following materials can be useful during the exam:

• The EPC, including the rules, protocols on centralisation and recognition, RRF and the notice regarding deposit accounts

• The PCT, including the Rules

• The Paris Convention

• A list of the contracting states to the EPC and PCT (and WTO if not Paris Convention)

Further useful material according to the EPO:

• Relevant dates for the contracting states to the EPC, PCT and WTO

• List of the contracting states to Paris Convention with dates

• Guidelines for Examination –> this will be available online via WISEflow

• Ancillary Regulations

• Case Law of the Boards of Appeal of the EPO –> this will be available online via WISEflow

• Decisions of the Enlarged Board of Appeal –> this will be available online via WISEflow

• PCT Applicant’s Guide –> this will be available online via WISEflow

• National law relating to the EPC –> this will be available online via WISEflow

Since there is no time for looking up information you have no idea about, having a book next to you that you never used will definitely not help you.

Personally, I used my EPC reference book for 80% of the questions. For the rest, I used my PCT reference book, the Euro-PCT guide, the PCT Applicant’s guide (shortened version), and my own notes (time limit tables, etc.).