About us

The organization responsible for the examination and certification of patent information professionals is called the International Standards Board for Qualified Patent Information Professionals (ISBQPIP). 

Meet our team

Organization

The ISBQPIP consists of a Supervisory Council and several committees.

The Supervisory Council is responsible for controlling and managing the activities and finances of the ISBQPIP.  

The Accreditation Committee reviews training for accreditation by the ISBQPIP.

The Examination Committee prepares the examination papers and reviews the candidates' examination papers.

The Qualifications and Continued Professional Development Committee reviews applications for Prior Experience Recognition and for enrolment for the examination, and assesses proposed activities for which CPD points may be obtained.

The Regulatory and Disciplinary Committee assesses compliance of QPIPs with the CPD requirements and reviews any written complaints made against a QPIP.

The Professional Representatives Collegium appoints the members of the Supervisory Council and monitors the activities of the ISBQPIP.

The Articles are the legal instrument by which the International Standards Board for Qualified Patent Information Professionals (ISBQPIP) is established and the Rules are the implementing procedures that are used by the ISBQPIP to administer its duties. 

For more detailed information, see the Articles and Rules under Documentation

Documentation

History

  • 2002: The idea of certification for patent information professionals was brought up during a round-table discussion at the EPIDOS meeting
  • 2009: Start of the collaboration of the Patent Documentation Group (PDG), the Confederacy of European Patent Information User Groups (CEPIUG) and the Patent Information User Group (PIUG)
  • 2011: Mock exams held in London (GB), Munich (DE), The Hague (NL), Stockholm (SE) and New Brunswick NJ (US)
  • 2012: Results and evaluation of mock exams
  • 2012-2018 activities:
    • Articles and Rules and Code-of-Conduct finalised after two rounds of public feedback (see Historical overview Articles, Rules, Code of Conduct for an overview of the major changes)
    • Structure of ISBQPIP set up
    • Prior Experience Recognition (PER or 'grandfathering') procedure set up (one-off opportunity per region)
    • Drafting of first 'real' examination papers plus the marking schemes
    • Updated the list of required skills and knowledge (Schedule 1 and 2 in the Syllabus)
    • Identified useful sources to enhance knowledge (see Educatio and Training document)
  • 31 August 2018: ISBQPIP officially established and registered at the Chamber of Commerce in The Hague (Netherlands)
  • December 2018-March 2019: Opportunity for patent information professionals in Europe and the USA to become QPIP-certified via Prior Experience Recognition
  • July 2020-October 2020: Opportunity for patent information professionals globally except in Europe, USA, China, India, Japan and North and South Korea to become QPIP-certified via Prior Experience Recognition
  • February 2021: first QPIP exams, offered online in five different time zones (from Japan to USA West-Coast)
  • September 2023-November 2023: Opportunity for patent information professionals in India to become QPIP-certified via Prior Experience Recognition
  • November 2024-January 2025: Opportunity for patent information professionals in Japan to become QPIP-certified via Prior Experience Recognition

Supervisory Council

  • Supervisory Council
  • Professional Representatives Collegium
AIDB (IT) - Marco Paolizzi
BEPIUG (BE)- Dirk Rattat
BPIP (UK) - Stephen Adams
CFIB (FR + French speaking) - Emmanuelle Rigollet
CHPIUG (CH) - David Hasler
IPCC (JP) – Mai Tanaka
PDG (EP) - Andreas Schultz
PIF (DK) - Daria Wagner
PING (DE)- Henrik Schreiber
PIUG (US) - Barbara Miller
SIPIG (SE)- Cecilia Håkansson
SPIP (ES) - Marta Ballbè Mohedano
WON (NL) – Ton de Graaff