Final Preparations
Updated 11 Mar 22: added entry photo requirements
Updated 10 Mar 22: clarify that you must print before starting FLOWlock Browser
Updated 10 Mar 22: clarify that you must print before starting FLOWlock Browser
- This is a detailed exam schedule for C 2022, indicating scheduled and unscheduled break times.
- External Resources at www.epo.org are available online during the exam. For all other materials, you will need to have them on paper. If you are planning to annotate digitally, be prepared to deal with limitations in the software.
- The B and C Exams are the least adapted to the new digital format. If it is similar to the 2021 exam, there will be quite a lot to read, a lot to answer and not much time to waste.
- My suggestion for C is to either just work on paper, or combine paper & digital. Only working digitally is not a good idea – you are disadvantaging yourself in time, and you lose the ability to compare and make permanent notes. Digital annotations made in Part 1 are not available in Part 2, and your own answer to Part 1 is only available to print before starting Part 2 (it is not available digitally).
- To work exclusively on paper, you just need to carefully copy the claims as granted onto paper, which you will have with you for the rest of the exam (and during the scheduled break). Depending on how the exam is divided, there will be new claims to be attacked in Part 2, and possibly new prior art.
- Be prepared to contact the invigilators by chat widget, and be prepared to deal with FLOWlock Browser crashes. Only in emergencies and if the chat widget is not available, call the epo helpdesk: +49 89 2399 5155. Telephone lines are very limited – the chat widget is strongly recommended. Communication via email will not be dealt with.
- Last year, candidates received an e-mail with a hyperlink just before the exam. This year, no email will be sent – the flows will made available well before each of your exams, so you will see them after logging into WISEflow.
- Get everything ready early so you can relax. It is recommended to log-in 60 minutes before the start of the first flow. This will also give enough time to make sure that the room requirements are complied with, and to create your own evidence.
- Print BEFORE starting the FLOWlock Browser: 10 minutes before the start of the exam, any printable documents will appear on the flow page. Click on the refresh icon (clockwise arrow) or press F5 to see them.
- It is also possible to print using a second computer logged into WISEflow, but this second computer must be turned off and out of reach during the exam.
During the exam
- Have a valid official photo ID (identity card or passport) ready and keep it within easy reach during the whole exam. You MUST verify your identity at the start of EACH FLOW by holding your ID next to your face for the entry photo. See Instructions to Candidates ITC IV, 6.
- During the exam, you must to stay in front of the camera – everything you want to use must be within arms reach.
- During scheduled exam times and unscheduled breaks, don’t go online discussing the exam or share confidential exam info, such as personal login details & invigilator passwords. Wait until the scheduled end of the last part of the exam – after that, you can freely discuss. But remember – no-one knows the expected answers, how the marks will be awarded, and which alternatives will be accepted.
Type-in the most complete answer possible within the time given
- More than one answer is frequently accepted. This is decided after the exam based upon the actual answers provided.
- You can still fail if you are on the right track but don’t hand in enough to be marked properly. Don’t spend too much time analysing and thinking – hand-in as much as answer as possible, even if you are not sure if it is “correct”.
- Concentrate on completing the parts of the answer as soon as possible which are awarded the most marks (the examiners reports include a marking table).
- If you are working digitally, it is fine to have a “notes” or “analysis” section in your answer, and to hand-it in. Help your marker by clearly distinguishing between “notes”/”analysis” and your answer to the exam.
Good luck!
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