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Management Forum

The Art of European Patent Claim Drafting: Fundamentals, Strategies and Practical Workshops Training Course

Build skills to draft, amend and defend European patents. Learn clarity, inventive step and disclosure, then apply them in a practical chemical or mechanical workshop to create robust, enforceable patents

★★★★★ "A professional but also very open and informal approach, easy to interact and ask questions."

24-25 June 2026
+ 2-3 December 2026 »
from £1199

Need help? Enrol/reserve

Course overview

Strong claim drafting is the cornerstone of effective patent protection. In European practice, understanding both the fundamentals and the subtleties of claim drafting is essential to secure adequate protection, defend validity and prove infringement - particularly in multi-jurisdictional litigation.

This intensive two-day course will sharpen your drafting skills and equip you with the techniques needed to meet official requirements while achieving commercially meaningful protection. Through a detailed exploration of novelty, inventive step, clarity, claim scope, description, amendments and interpretation, you will gain practical insights into what makes a robust and defensible patent claim.

Day one delivers a comprehensive foundation in claim drafting, focusing on the principles, dos and don’ts, and the legal framework shaping European practice. Day two offers a choice of interactive mechanical or chemical workshops, where you will apply what you’ve learned in realistic drafting scenarios. These hands-on sessions provide a safe environment to practise, refine and troubleshoot your approach under expert guidance.

With a strong emphasis on practical application, this seminar ensures you leave with the knowledge and confidence to draft, amend and defend patent claims effectively across jurisdictions.

During this thorough and well-structured programme, the expert trainers use a mix of theory, examples, exercises and workshops to cover the fundamentals and advanced drafting issues and help embed the learning. Plus, ample time is built in for discussion, enabling you to address your specific challenges and benefit from the trainers’ expertise.

** This seminar combines a full day of claim drafting fundamentals with a further day of focused workshops. Attendees have the choice to attend either a mechanical or chemical workshop on day two.

PLEASE NOTE:
Attendees will benefit from bringing a copy of the European Patent Convention with them.

This course is part of our collection of IP & Patents Training Courses.

Benefits of attending

By attending this highly practical course you will:

Strengthen your understanding of patentable inventions and how to frame them effectively in claims
Analyse prior art and inventive step to draft stronger, defensible claims
Master sufficiency of disclosure to ensure your patents withstand scrutiny
Achieve commercially meaningful protection by balancing scope and compliance with official requirements
Refine descriptions and drawings to support robust, enforceable claims
Practise drafting selection inventions in the chemical workshop
Develop skills in functional claiming through the mechanical workshop
Compare European and US practice to navigate key differences and strategic compromises

Who should attend?

This course has been specially designed for patent attorney trainees, patent professionals new to claim drafting, and non-European patent attorneys seeking insight into EPO practices and decision-making around patent claims.

Patent professionals and specialists
Trainee and junior patent attorneys
European patent attorneys
Patent attorneys in private practice
Corporate and in-house patent attorneys and lawyers
Patent consultants and agents
IP and patent managers
US attorneys working in Europe
Non-European patent attorneys wanting an insight into the EPO
Legal professionals and associates in IP and patent law firms

Enrol/reserve

This course will cover:

Day 1
Day 2

Know the invention

Know the client
Understand the invention
Novelty
The invention and the prior art
Inventive step

Claim drafting fundamentals

Clarity and clarity issues
Claim scope
Dos and don’ts

The importance of a good description

Structure of the description
Amendments and clarity
Sufficiency of disclosure

Amendments

Legal background
In the priority year
After filing
Limitation
Opposition
Inescapable trap

Claim interpretation

Art. 69 EPC
Before and after grant
UPC

International considerations

US
Asia
PCT
Drafting a global application

Chemical workshop - Introduction

Warm-up exercises
Chemical claim types

Chemical workshop - Further considerations for chemical drafting

Exclusion from patentability
Exceptions to patentability
Parameters
Selection inventions
Disclaimers
Inventive step vs sufficiency
Sufficiency vs clarity
Drafting to allow for future amendments

Chemical workshop - Claim drafting exercise

Invention description
Essential features
Optional features
Examples
Technical effects
Prior art
Drafting independent claims
Drafting dependent claims
Drafting the description

Mechanical workshop - Preparation phase

Closest prior art selection
Novel and inventive features
Claim categories, technical fields

Mechanical workshop - Claim sketching

Requirements of a patent
Novelty
Inventive step
Clarity
Essential features

Mechanical workshop - Claim drafting

Functional claiming
Mere juxtaposition of features
One- and two-part claims
Scope of protection. How broad?

Mechanical workshop - Dependent claims

Claim trees
Claim dependencies

Mechanical workshop - Drafting the description

Support inventive step
Create fall-back positions

Mechanical workshop - Exercises

The problem-solution approach
Closest prior art selection
Claim categories
Novelty and inventive features

Enrol/reserve

Leythem Wall
Oxon IP

Leythem Wall is a European and UK patent attorney and litigator specialising in the chemical, consumer products, energy, material, mechanical, medical and pharmaceutical sectors. Prior to founding Oxon IP, he was a Partner in major European and US Intellectual Property law firms, and before then in-house patent counsel for ExxonMobil and AkzoNobel. He has extensive experience in patent drafting, prosecution and particularly oppositions before the European Patent Office. Having worked in private practice and industry for European and US companies, he has significant knowledge of the US patent system, and how this compares with Europe.

More details

Joeri Beetz
Keltie LLP

Joeri Beetz, Patent Attorney, Keltie LLP, specialises in patents in the fields of mechanical engineering, physics and control software. Amongst all the different technologies he has been extensively involved in are optical recording, medical devices, agricultural equipment, lighting, displays and automotive. He regularly represents clients in opposition procedures at the EPO, both to defend and to attack patents.

Joeri spent nine years in a Dutch patent firm based in Eindhoven, after five years of working at the in-house patent department of CNH Industrial. He joined Keltie in 2017. During his in-house period he managed a large patent portfolio for a broad range of different combine harvesters. At CNH Industrial, he built an extensive expertise in freedom to operate and patent infringement analysis and gained a keen insight in the commercial implications of different IP strategies.

In 2002, Joeri obtained his masters degree in physics at the University of Utrecht. In his final year at University, he built and tested equipment for testing particle detectors for the ALICE experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN.

More details

NEW higher discounts for multiple bookings - bring your colleagues to make your training budget go further:

30% off the 2nd delegate*
40% off the 3rd delegate*
50% off the 4th delegate*

Please contact us for pricing if you are interested in booking 5 or more delegates

24-25 June 2026

Classroom
Rembrandt Hotel
London

09:00-17:00 UK (London)
Course code 15723
Optional £300/€419/$479 per night

GBP 1,399 1,599
EUR 1,959 2,239
USD 2,247 2,559

Until 20 May

2 days classroom-based training
Optional accommodation - 2 nights including breakfast, checking in the day before the course
Meet presenters and fellow attendees in person
Lunch and refreshments provided
Download documentation and certification of completion
Fair transfer and cancellation policy

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Not ready to book yet?

for 7 days, no obligation

2-3 December 2026

Live online

09:00-17:00 UK (London) (UTC+00)
10:00-18:00 Paris (UTC+01)
04:00-12:00 New York (UTC-05)
Course code 15894

GBP 1,199 1,399
EUR 1,679 1,959
USD 1,927 2,239

Until 28 Oct

2 days live online training
Browser-based, no download usually required
See presenters and interact with fellow attendees
Download documentation and certification of completion
Fair transfer and cancellation policy

View basket

Not ready to book yet?

for 7 days, no obligation

* Early booking discounts may not be combined with other discounts or offers. As such, the discounts for 2nd/3rd/4th delegates are based on the full price; and apply only when booking multiple delegates on the same date.

Reviews of IPI's The Art of European Patent Claim Drafting: Fundamentals, Strategies and Practical Workshops training course

A professional but also very open and informal approach, easy to interact and ask questions.

Nov 2 2023

Kim Hed Norway
Patent Specialist, Jotun AS

Nov 2 2023

Overall opinion is that it was great. Interesting content, well presented, nice speakers that involved the audience. The level of difficulty and complexity was spot on for me, I knew about some things beforehand, but new information was scattered throughout which always kept things interesting.

Per Görts Sweden
Patent Consultant, Ström och Gulliksson

May 24 2022

[Speakers were] Energetic and willing to share their knowledge and professional experience. Created a good atmosphere which made possible the attendees to intervene. The speakers always took the best from their audience and incorporated in the flow of the lesson. The content was very well organized to include all the important aspects of EPC and the case law seemed easy to understand. The speakers were very focused and insisted on the important aspects, not only for those preparing for the EQE, but business view.

Rita Noronha Portugal
Patent Manager, BIAL – Portela & Cª, S.A.

May 20 2021

Very good.

Mathilda Janson Sweden
Patent consultant, Ström & Gulliksson

Nov 7 2019

The course was excellent: the content and the speakers. I will be sure to recommend it.

Mariana Oliveira Portugal
Technological Scouting / Patent Attorney, The Navigator Company

Nov 7 2019

Excellent.

Ali Almulla Saudi Arabia
Director of Innovation & Invention Support Directorate, The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf _ GCCPO

Nov 7 2019

The speakers were both very passionate and knowledgeable about the subject and provided some good insights and personal reflections on the course material. The content of the course was excellent, and the second day (mechanical workshop) was particularly good because learning by doing is more beneficial for my learning process.

Emil Tostrup Sweden
Patent Consultant, Ström & Gulliksson

Nov 7 2019

Professional speakers coming from two different technical fields gave valuable insights on how to structure claims. The best part of the course was practising claim drafting and learning how to better build suitable claims.

Nastasia Andersson Sweden
Patent Consultant, Ström & Gulliksson

Nov 26 2018

The course is well organised, the speaker (Joeri) is excellent, competent, clear, patient and available to answer all our questions. The practical workshop was really useful. Overall opinion: excellent course.

Daniele Montanari Netherlands
Trainee Patent Attorney, NLO - Nederlandsch Octrooibureau

Nov 26 2018

The course is really well prepared and presented and the speaker makes it easy to understand everything.

Cristina Rojo Matey Netherlands
Patent Attorney Trainee, NLO

May 8 2018

A great course, great content, with competent speakers.

Niels Peder Moeller Denmark
Patent Attorney, Chas. Hude A/S

May 8 2018

Well planned, nice overview. Nice to have only two speakers.

Eline Van Kappel Netherlands
Trainee Patent Attorney, VO Patents and Trademarks

May 8 2018

Excellent course.

Elen Margrethe Brendeford Norway
Patent Attorney, Zacco Norway AS

Nov 26 2018

I thought it was a brilliant course that I would recommend to others. It was really good that there were so few people so one could ask all the "stupid" beginners' questions in a closed forum.

Vibeke Bay Denmark
Patent Attorney, Høiberg

Nov 15 2017

Extremely well-prepared setup – I particularly liked the interactive approach and the discussions.

Filip Skarp Sweden
Patent Consultant, Ström & Gulliksson AB

Nov 15 2017

Great!

Andreas Dietzel Norway
IP Manager, Leogriff

Nov 15 2017

I enjoyed the course and felt encouraged and valued in having decided to train as a Patent Attorney. I was given good suggestions and tips on how to approach the EQE exam and, eventually, be successful at it.

Marie Lacombe Norway
Junior Patent Attorney, Yara International ASA

Nov 21 2016

Course was well organised and the content and speakers were good.

Heikki Salomaki Finland
Salomaki