National judges

The EPO offers a limited number of internships at its Boards of Appeal for judges of the contracting states to the European Patent Convention (EPC). 

The internships are organised jointly by the Boards of Appeal and the European Patent Academy, whose objectives include the promotion of equal access to training opportunities in the field of European and international patent law and practice across all current and future EPC contracting states. The internships last two weeks. 

Summary 

Location: Munich, onsite 
Dates: 15.06.2026 to 27.06.2026 
Registration deadline: 10.02.2026

 
Course prerequisites 

How to apply 
Please fill out this form here and email it to judicialtraining@epo.org along with your motivation letter and a full CV. 

Requirements 
The internships are open to qualified and practising national judges who are nationals of and resident in an EPC contracting state. Priority will be given to applicants working in courts which are competent to deal with patent cases. The main language of the internship programme is English, so a good command of the English language is essential. Candidates must first complete the online course on Patentability and revocation proceedings (Ref. JV02-2026). 

Financial support 
The EPO contributes towards living costs and travel to Munich. It does not cover any other expenses. Interns must provide their own health insurance to cover the trip. 

Deadline for applications 
The registration deadline for this year is 10 February 2026.  

Programme 

The internships last two weeks. Prior to the internship, judicial interns must complete an online course on Patentability and revocation proceedings, reference JV02-2026, for a duration of 20 hours. This is followed by two weeks shadowing a technical board of appeal onsite in Munich. This involves reading all the case files, attending the oral proceedings and discussing the cases and the final decisions with the board. Due to the secrecy-of-deliberations rule, interns do not participate in reaching the final decision in a case.  

The internship programme 2026 will be structured as follows : 

Preparatory course on patentability and revocation proceedings (CEST time) : 

• 11 March (Wednesday), 10.30-12.30, online 
• 11 March (Wednesday), 13.30-12.30, online 
• 12 March (Thursday), 10.30-12.30, online 
• 13 March (Friday), 11.00-12.00, online 
• 13 March (Friday), 13.30-15.30, online 
• 20 March (Friday), 14.30-16.30, online  

Stay at the Boards of Appeal: 15-27 June (two weeks) in Munich (onsite)