Following the accession of the Republic of Serbia to the European Patent Convention (EPC), which entered into force on 1 October 2010, patent attorneys from Serbia have the opportunity to acquire the right to act as professional attorneys before the European Patent Office (EPO), and consequently, to be included in the list of professional attorneys maintained by the EPO for that purpose.
Only professional representatives whose names appear on the above-mentioned list may act as representatives in proceedings before the EPO. In order to be included on this list, professional representatives must meet certain conditions, including having passed the European qualifying examination (EQE).
The EPO regularly organizes a Candidate Support Programme (CSP) as part of cooperation with its Member States. The CSP helps selected candidates prepare for the EQE. The support is provided in the form of financial aid and training aimed at preparing students for all EQE examination papers, i.e. preparatory Paper F and the main examination papers M1, M2, M3 and M4. The programme follows the EQE timetable and is therefore carried out in different phases over three consecutive years (Paper F is due in 2027, Papers M1 and M2 in 2028, Papers M3 and M4 in 2029).
We invite all interested candidates to apply for the Candidate Support Programme (CSP), provided that they have already registered for the European Qualifications Examination (EQE) and that the EPO Examination Secretariat has confirmed their application in the year 2027 for the preparatory Paper F. The deadline for submitting applications is 31 May 2026.
Applications can be submitted directly to EPO through a webform at the following link, which will be available from 20 April to 31 May.
Your application must include:
- Proof of permanent residence,
- Motivation letter,
- Curriculum vitae (CV),
- Letter of support from your employer,
- Proof of enrolment for the EQE 2027 Paper F;
More information about the conditions of the Programme, as well as support measures, can be found in the following document, as well as on the EPO website. A detailed description of the application process via the online form, as well as necessary documents can be found in the quick guide.