PCT reference books
If you are preparing for the EPAC or EQE, you will definitely need an EPC and PCT reference book. In this post, I will list the different PCT reference books I am aware of. I am also summarising their features, advantages and disadvantages.
The PCT reference books are less evolved, and the options I am listing in this post are not necessarily alternatives to each other, as they are all quite different.
Please keep in mind that whatever books you choose, simply buying a book will not help you pass the exam. You will have to spend a lot of time with your chosen materials to tab, highlight, annotate and get to know them.
PCT
The Cross-Referenced Patent Cooperation Treaty by Cees Mulder
This book includes the full PCT Articles and rules, and it is cross-referenced. Cross-referenced means that it points you to the related rules or relevant parts of the PCT Applicant’s guide, which is really helpful.
At the end of the book there are a few really useful annexes included.
To give you an idea, this is what an Article in this book looks like
The disadvantage is that there is no annotation or comments included.
The Cross-Referenced Patent Cooperation Treaty has already been updated for EQE 2024.
PCT.App by Pete Pollard, Till Andlauer, Stefan Ahlers, and Thomas Eissfeller
This is the corresponding option to EPC.App I described in my post about the EPC reference books. It is relatively new, and very helpful. Similarly to EPC.App, it is not an app actually but a website, i.e. a fully annotated PCT reference book that is online. It includes full PCT Articles and rules with Pete Pollard’s comments. Moreover, it also includes parts from the PCT Applicant’s Guide.
For the exam, you can save a pdf and print it, or order a paper copy.
A screenshot from PCT.App
As you can see, anything that is related is linked to the certain Article. On the right side, you can see the Author’s helpful comments, summaries. You can also add your own comments (both electronically or on paper).
PCT.App offers the same advantages as mentioned above for EPC.App. For example, you can access the website from wherever you are: your office, home or while travelling, without always having to take a heavy book with you.
A huge advantage is that we can save trees by not printing and shipping huge books over Europe. 🌳
Another big advantage is that the editors keep updating the PCT.App continuously. In case you find any error, they will correct it within a few hours, and you don't have to wait a full year for a new version. Also, in the PCT.App, your individual notes and annotations will always be retained despite the constant updates. So you can always use the most recent version, but your old comments will not disappear.
For new subscribers for an annual license of either EPC.App or PCT.App, there is currently a 20% early bird discount that you can use until 31 May 2023.
Discount code: 6WYG96U8
FYI: I don’t get anything if you subscribe.
PCT: Strategy and Practice by Derk Visser
Don’t let Derk Visser’s name confuse you, this is actually not his book, he was only added as an editor. The chapters were written by 4 different authors. This is a new and relatively short book, although not a reference book per se.
Please note that this book does not include the PCT articles or rules, but is rather a summary of the different steps in the PCT procedure. It is really helpful, I highly recommend reading it. However, I’m not sure how useful it is at the actual exam.
PCT Applicant’s Guide
Although this is not a reference book either, the PCT Applicant’s Guide – in particular the “Introduction to the International Phase” part – is probably still one of the most useful materials from this list, and it is free.
The disadvantage is that in Paper D1, you cannot use the PCT Applicant’s Guide as the legal basis. You need to provide the specific PCT articles or rules as legal basis. Although these are mentioned in the PCT Applicant’s Guide, it is not clear what the legal basis for each sentence is. Sometimes you can see three or even more different rules mentioned for a paragraph in the PCT Applicant’s Guide, which means that you have to check all of them to find out which one you actually need to cite in your answer. However, this is not always the case, so it’s still worth using the PCT Applicant’s Guide; especially when you have to check certain things about certain Receiving Offices.
This is what I mean, see two examples below ⬇️
For the Pre-exam or EPAC however, PCT Applicant’s Guide doesn’t really have any disadvantages.
For the last EQE (EQE 2023), online access to the PCT Applicant’s Guide was added to WISEflow, yay! This means that you no longer have to print the Guide but can use the online version even during your exam.
However, even if you do want to print the PCT Applicant’s Guide, please don’t print everything. It is more than enough to print the “Introduction to the International Phase” part. (This is where helpful questions and answers are provided with legal basis.) You can annotate and tab this part. Should you need any of the annexes for any of the legal questions, you can check them online. If you really want to have the most important Annexes with you on paper, print the Annexes of EPO, IB, USPTO, and the offices of CN (CNIPA), JP (JPO), KR (KIPO), DE, GB, FR.
Euro-PCT Guide
The EPO’s Euro-PCT Guide is really helpful for PCT related questions when the EPO is involved (e.g. as ISA, as IPEA, etc.). It’s not that long, so you can even read the full book at some point.
This guide is obviously not a full PCT reference book and does not include the full PCT articles and rules. However, the advantage is that it includes everything that concerns the EPO in the PCT procedure, and it also includes the legal basis. As it is a short, concise book, I found that it complements the other books well.
If you are using the Hoekstra EPC reference book, please note that it includes the full Euro-PCT Guide.
Starting pack for English speaking candidates
A good combination for the Paper D can be the “The Cross-Referenced Patent Cooperation Treaty by Cees Mulder” + the PCT Applicant’s Guide + the Euro-PCT Guide.
Or, you can use the PCT.App that already includes a lot of comments, and you probably won’t even need other books.
German books
PCT.App is available in German as well.
Additionally, for German speaking candidates, there are additional books:
"Verfahrenspraxis EPÜ und PCT" also known as the "Großmann";
EPÜ- und PCT-Tabellen by Düwel that is tabulated with EPC and PCT side-by-side;
Köllner’s PCT-Handbuch that is hierarchically structured, and includes detailed overviews and an alphabetical subject index.
A German speaking candidate shared their experience: “I used the EPC and PCT tables by Düwel and they are great for D and any other legal questions, because you can find the Articles and Rules grouped by topic with references to other relevant legal texts (Articles/Rules, Guidelines, case law,...) in the last column so you can quickly find any relevant answers to questions once you found something related. In the back you find an index and a summary of all G desicions in case you need to look up the guiding principles.”
Do you have any comments about the EPC reference books?
We (me and the EQE candidates) would love to hear your opinion!