Study visit for OAPI examiners at the EPO in the framework of the AfrIPI project

From 17 to 21 October 2022, four examiners from the African Organization of Intellectual Property (OAPI) will attend a five-day study visit at the European Patent Office (EPO). The course, organised by EPO in cooperation with AfrIPI, is part of an extensive competency-based training programme which began in August 2021 and was customised especially for the OAPI. The programme itself includes a blend of onsite and virtual classroom training, online courses, and on-the-job coaching.

The study visit also allows face-to-face meetings to take place: the in-person nature of the visit gives the OAPI examiners an opportunity to interact directly with experienced EPO examiners. In addition to this, the participants will be able to attend Oral Proceedings in Opposition, followed by a briefing with the EPO Opposition Division, as well as working on practical search and examination exercises with the guidance of EPO examiners.

The final day of the study will be dedicated to the EPO’s strategic plan 2023 PATLIB 2.0 project, and in particular to its “PATLIB Knowledge Transfer to Africa” initiative which is providing patent searching and IP training to selected African universities to help support their technology

This training session is part of the AfrIPI Annual Work Plan 2022 Activity 10 'Patent examination training programme (OAPI)'. Its main objective is to provide participants with opportunities to interact with professionals, for purposes of learning from each other, and sharing information, experiences, skills, and international best practices.