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Institute of Professional Representatives before the European Patent Office
Questionnaire on Prior User Rights

epi has been requested by a Working Group on behalf of Group B+ to contribute to a questionnaire on Prior User Rights (“PUR”) as part of an effort to reach an agreement on substantive patent law harmonisation. In order to provide the Working Group with useful information, we would like to ask our membership for their input on their experiences with existing PUR systems. If you are an epi member, please click the button to fill out the short questionnaire which should not take more than five minutes of your time.

The deadline for submission is: 16 November 2025.

Questionnaire

 
Election to Council 2026

Election to Council 2026

Nominations are closed Corrections to the Nominations can be submitted latest by 10 December 2025.

Nomination
 

epi Informationepi publishes a quarterly journal to inform the members of epi's current activities.

Current issue

Deadline for epi Information 4|2025: 24 November 2025.

 
epi Guidelines:
Use of Generative AI

At the Council meeting on 16 November 2024, guidelines for the use of generative AI in the work of patent attorneys were adopted. The guidelines emphasize a responsible use of AI, including informing oneself about the tools one uses, ensuring adequate confidentiality, thoroughly checking any output and being responsible for the final work product. Additionally, being transparent with your clients about the use of generative AI is an aspect to be considered.

 
Job announcement

Current vacancies at the epi Secretariat in Munich

Current vacancies

 

Welcome

The Institute of Professional Representatives before the European Patent Office (epi) came into existence pursuant to the European Patent Convention (EPC).


News

November 08, 2025

Pre-Council celebration event on the occasion of 100th Council Meeting

The celebration of the 100th epi Council Meeting started on Friday afternoon with a memorable retrospective of the history and look into the future of the Institute.

Details

November 06, 2025

CALL FOR BENCHMARKERS FOR THE EQE 2026

EQE 2026 Papers A, B, C, and D and M2 – 5, 10, 12 and 3 March 2025, respectively

The Examination Board of the European qualifying examination is looking for volunteers from epi to bench mark the 2026 papers A, B, C and D. Volunteers will be expected to sit one or more of the papers under the same conditions as candidates.

Details