A-Book

How to draft claims and the introductory part of a European patent application and pass paper A of the European Qualifying Examination.

This English-language book is intended for trainee patent attorneys to prepare and train them for Paper A (drafting a patent application) of the European qualifying examination (EQE). After a general introduction, in a specific section the procedure to obtain a patent is discussed followed by systematic approaches to draft a patent application for the EQE with references to often made mistakes. In the appendices, Model Solutions for two past papers in all three formal languages of the EPO (DE, FR, EN) are given.

From 2025, extensive changes to the current EQE and the corresponding preparation courses are planned. In 2025, the changes will only affect the current preliminary examination, which will be replaced by a so-called »foundation paper«, while examination papers A, B, C and D will remain current. These will then be progressively replaced by new papers (M1 - M4) in 2026 and 2027. The new format of the EQE will have an impact on the further design or continuation of the ABCD-Books beyond 2025-26.

Founding Author and Editor: Erich Wäckerlin was former member of a Technical Board of Appeal of the EPO and tutor at the International Section of CEIPI, Université Robert Schumann, Strasbourg.

Continued by:
Harrie Marsman, European representative and tutor at CEIPI, Strasbourg.

Edited by:
Harrie Marsman, European Representative and Tutor with CEIPI Strasbourg