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also, on (i think) the PLI website, it said that a new patent bar is coming & that PLI will produce a supplement

i just bought the home course & plan on studying before 1L

http://www.pli.edu/Patentbarreview/default.aspx

called them today. there are only giving the supplement to those who bought the course from them

i bought mine secondhand

any ideas on how to get that supplement or equivalent info? i want to take the test this summer

nerdherder wrote:

silly101 wrote:

LockBox wrote:So to those who have already finished 1L or law school in general for that matter, is the consensus that you SHOULD take this exam prior to law school? Or is it best to take it after law school (or during if that's even possible). I have a BS in chem with enough physics to qualify myself and am looking to go into patent/IP law. Thanks

love your avatar

and also curious about this question as well

Bump this question.

Thanks Silly. Decided to bump this post again. Omni prep says they have an updated study guide to take into account the recent changes (April 2011) in the MPEP. They also say they have a $100 "pass rebate" bringing the total price to $400. Is this a decent way to go? I wouldn't mind spending the bills if I know it'll be enough to get me through the exam. I'm not sure how interested I am in browsing the internet via self study - it'd be wouldn't be worth the headache for me. Any recommendations for Omni prep (or any others around the same price range)?

i got my PLI study prep off of ebay for just under $500...

silly101 wrote:i got my PLI study prep off of ebay for just under $500...

What do you think about them? Are there hard copies as well as computer based materials? I guess I could look it up but i wouldn't mind some feedback from you before I shell out 5 bills. Thanks!

i did some research before buying it. seems like it's a pretty good course, though one of the more expensive ones
i bought mine in january which seems like an "off-season" for the patent bar- most take it over the summer. not sure if it's more expensive now

it comes with:
three ring binder that summarizes the MPEP from what i can tell so far & practice questions
primary questions booklet
precourse booklet
claims light booklet
36 audio CDs
9 (i think) DVDs
Patware CD- has the complete MPEP and some other stuff

its expected to take 150-200 hours to go through all the material
i'm on the third CD...

silly101 wrote:i did some research before buying it. seems like it's a pretty good course, though one of the more expensive ones
i bought mine in january which seems like an "off-season" for the patent bar- most take it over the summer. not sure if it's more expensive now

it comes with:
three ring binder that summarizes the MPEP from what i can tell so far & practice questions
primary questions booklet
precourse booklet
claims light booklet
36 audio CDs
9 (i think) DVDs
Patware CD- has the complete MPEP and some other stuff

its expected to take 150-200 hours to go through all the material
i'm on the third CD...

Do you think you can pass the bar without the supplements (for the changes since april)? I also got my PLI material second hand but I'm not sure how much change the bar has undergone and I don't want to waste 200 hours if I'm going to fail...

gerbal wrote:

silly101 wrote:i did some research before buying it. seems like it's a pretty good course, though one of the more expensive ones
i bought mine in january which seems like an "off-season" for the patent bar- most take it over the summer. not sure if it's more expensive now

it comes with:
three ring binder that summarizes the MPEP from what i can tell so far & practice questions
primary questions booklet
precourse booklet
claims light booklet
36 audio CDs
9 (i think) DVDs
Patware CD- has the complete MPEP and some other stuff

its expected to take 150-200 hours to go through all the material
i'm on the third CD...

Do you think you can pass the bar without the supplements (for the changes since april)? I also got my PLI material second hand but I'm not sure how much change the bar has undergone and I don't want to waste 200 hours if I'm going to fail...

GAH
that is my question exactly!!
and im trying to find some company that will allow me to buy the supplement material or something. i dont mind paying! i just need to material to pass...
let me know if you find any info?

I called some patent bar test preps, and generally you cannot order the supplement unless you originally ordered from them

However,

One person was kind enough to direct me to where we can study for the new exam on our own
http://www.uspto.gov/ip/boards/oed/exam ... update.jsp

For the first link,
Make sure to read the Blue Pages which is linked there as pdf/html

Then read the other 5 notices that are available

So, I am going to go ahead and use the PLI material + this website and hope for the best!


If anyone else has more info that would be greatly appreciated!

Any updates or advances with the issue of the new patent bar exam that anyone would like to share?

I am mainly concerned about how to prepare for it and which prep course or material to use. I just looked at the PLI website and the home study package costs $1800.. OTL

I decided to go with the old PLI course for right at $500 for an un-used course from a seller on Amazon with a 100% positive rating. From what I can tell so far (and granted it is early in my study process) the changes are not so overarching that the old PLI course isn't going to cut it. I went to the USPTO website and downloaded the 6 or so .pdfs that outline the 'changes' which a cursory glance indicates are case law related and the new MPEP. Along my studying route, I'm planning to compare MPEP v4 to v8 periodically to id any major differences and make sure I'm up to speed on the latest stuff to be tested. I'm also going to lurk on this website: http://patentbarquestions.com/ I hope that as folks take the new test, we'll get more info as to how beneficial the latest supplements really are to the actual test.

From what I can tell based on PLI's website and a deep dive internet search, the changes to the MPEP don't necessarily warrant a new course, but PLI is switching from their -- 'we ship you the whole course for home-study' model to an 'all materials are available on-line so you can't resell them' model. Seems like some folks in their marketing and product development departements got together and decided that the test changes by USPTO would be a great impetus to explain away this change in their model.

I'll post updates ITT as I study if I come to any new or earth shattering conclusions about all this. I'd appreicate input from those of you also studying with PLI's older course (sans supplement) as you progress too. Best of luck to everyone.

i'll also post updates along the way. i plan on taking it this summer but we'll see if that actually happens haha.

wow, just noticed they want official documentation for all traffic violations >$100

lame

I've also decided to take it this summer as well using some old PLI material. I figure spending ~3 hours a day for a month and a half won't be too bad during the summer while I'm not doing anything. I've heard that passing the patent bar can pigeonhole you into working in the IP department (or working as a patent prosecutor) but I should be fine as long as I leave out that I've passed the patent bar in my resume right (I'm not sure yet I want to do IP)?

gerbal wrote:I've also decided to take it this summer as well using some old PLI material. I figure spending ~3 hours a day for a month and a half won't be too bad during the summer while I'm not doing anything. I've heard that passing the patent bar can pigeonhole you into working in the IP department (or working as a patent prosecutor) but I should be fine as long as I leave out that I've passed the patent bar in my resume right (I'm not sure yet I want to do IP)?

mm thats exactly where im at too
i figure an extra qualification doesnt hurt, but im still unsure of the type of law i want to pursue

fatduck wrote:wow, just noticed they want official documentation for all traffic violations >$100

lame

Is this to sit for the patent bar?

Keep more info/results coming guys and good luck to anyone taking the exam soon.

I took the test last week and passed. I had only 5-6 questions on the new material and they weren't particularly difficult if you can figure out which document they are referring to.
My suggestion: go to mypatentbar.com and look through the discussions on current questions. I had a ton of questions that I immediately recognized, which left me plenty of time to look up the more difficult ones.

OrdinarilySkilled wrote:I took the test last week and passed. I had only 5-6 questions on the new material and they weren't particularly difficult if you can figure out which document they are referring to.
My suggestion: go to mypatentbar.com and look through the discussions on current questions. I had a ton of questions that I immediately recognized, which left me plenty of time to look up the more difficult ones.

Thanks, Ordinarily and congratulations on passing the test -- I'm sure you're glad it's over. Do you mind telling us which prep course you used? Did you just pre-read the 'new material', or did you actually prep this material in some other way?

skw wrote:

OrdinarilySkilled wrote:I took the test last week and passed. I had only 5-6 questions on the new material and they weren't particularly difficult if you can figure out which document they are referring to.
My suggestion: go to mypatentbar.com and look through the discussions on current questions. I had a ton of questions that I immediately recognized, which left me plenty of time to look up the more difficult ones.

Thanks, Ordinarily and congratulations on passing the test -- I'm sure you're glad it's over. Do you mind telling us which prep course you used? Did you just pre-read the 'new material', or did you actually prep this material in some other way?

Would also like to know this if/when you get a chance to respond. Congrats and thanks in advance.

Unfortunately, my answer isn't that helpful. My job is related to patents so I was already familiar with the material.
I have heard that the PLI stuff is helpful to get a general overview of the mpep. Beyond that, I'm clueless as to what prep material is out there or how useful it is. Whatever prep material you use, I would just suggest doing as many practice questions as possible so that you have a very good understanding of where to look for answers when searching during the test.

As far as reading the new material - Its fairly strange/confusing, I would just try to find some summary or something from one of these prep sources that hits the main points.