Patent Bar Prep - Best Advice to Pass Before Fall Changes Forum

[NedStark12]

As anyone interested in practicing IP law knows, the patent bar is set to go through some major changes later this year. I have some time this summer and would love to study and pass the patent bar. As of now, what are the most comprehensive materials to pass this exam? Although expensive, I know PLI has a great reputation, however, are there any alternative/cheaper methods to learn and pass this test?

[pinkcamellia]

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... p#p5527291

[NedStark12]

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... p#p5527291

I've done some searching myself on this topic but wanted a bit more input, considering only two people gave their experiences in total (both advocating Bullseye).

If you don't' mind, can you elaborate on the Bullseye prep approach? Did you feel 100% prepared walking into the exam, or did you leave feeling like you "just got by"?

[pinkcamellia]

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... p#p5527291

I've done some searching myself on this topic but wanted a bit more input, considering only two people gave their experiences in total (both advocating Bullseye).

If you don't' mind, can you elaborate on the Bullseye prep approach? Did you feel 100% prepared walking into the exam, or did you leave feeling like you "just got by"?

I can't really elaborate because I just posted what my SO used. He drilled a lot of questions using that approach and found that a lot of questions were verbatim from old exams. He said that those questions he obviously felt the most comfortable with, and was pretty sure he'd passed by the time he finished. It tells you instantly whether you passed, and he did the first time he took the exam. This was in July of last year, and I don't know if there have been additional changes since then. I did read that PLI is making those major changes this fall, so it's smart of you to get this out of the way.

I hope you get some additional input.

[bio822]

anyone know around which month exactly is the patent bar supposed to change?

[NedStark12]

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... p#p5527291

I've done some searching myself on this topic but wanted a bit more input, considering only two people gave their experiences in total (both advocating Bullseye).

If you don't' mind, can you elaborate on the Bullseye prep approach? Did you feel 100% prepared walking into the exam, or did you leave feeling like you "just got by"?

I can't really elaborate because I just posted what my SO used. He drilled a lot of questions using that approach and found that a lot of questions were verbatim from old exams. He said that those questions he obviously felt the most comfortable with, and was pretty sure he'd passed by the time he finished. It tells you instantly whether you passed, and he did the first time he took the exam. This was in July of last year, and I don't know if there have been additional changes since then. I did read that PLI is making those major changes this fall, so it's smart of you to get this out of the way.

I hope you get some additional input.

Thanks for the additional thoughts.

After doing more research, it doesn't seem like Bullseye has been kept up to date with the newer changes implemented in 2012. I then narrowed my choices down to PLI and Omnipoint, and ultimately selected the former due to the brevity and dissatisfaction I've seen with Omnipoint. PLI just seems to be the standard to pass the patent bar, and at this point, I want to pass and study for this exam once.

Before I wind up purchasing PLI in the next few days, does anyone have any counters to the product? Also, does anyone have any general suggestions during their experience studying for the test?

[chem]

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... p#p5527291

I've done some searching myself on this topic but wanted a bit more input, considering only two people gave their experiences in total (both advocating Bullseye).

If you don't' mind, can you elaborate on the Bullseye prep approach? Did you feel 100% prepared walking into the exam, or did you leave feeling like you "just got by"?

I can't really elaborate because I just posted what my SO used. He drilled a lot of questions using that approach and found that a lot of questions were verbatim from old exams. He said that those questions he obviously felt the most comfortable with, and was pretty sure he'd passed by the time he finished. It tells you instantly whether you passed, and he did the first time he took the exam. This was in July of last year, and I don't know if there have been additional changes since then. I did read that PLI is making those major changes this fall, so it's smart of you to get this out of the way.

I hope you get some additional input.

Thanks for the additional thoughts.

After doing more research, it doesn't seem like Bullseye has been kept up to date with the newer changes implemented in 2012. I then narrowed my choices down to PLI and Omnipoint, and ultimately selected the former due to the brevity and dissatisfaction I've seen with Omnipoint. PLI just seems to be the standard to pass the patent bar, and at this point, I want to pass and study for this exam once.

Before I wind up purchasing PLI in the next few days, does anyone have any counters to the product? Also, does anyone have any general suggestions during their experience studying for the test?

No counters. I think your making a good call. Not only have I found the prep thorough and substantive, but the costumer service has been amazing as well. I've had questions answered about just about everything, from the test, to subject material, to changing my study plan, in less than 30 minutes. Good luck

[NedStark12]

@chem

Thanks buddy...appreciate the review and support. Good luck to you as well.

[NedStark12]

anyone know around which month exactly is the patent bar supposed to change?

I've seen dates ranging from as early as September to broader claims such as Fall/Winter. If you find a clearer date/article on the topic, please do share. I would love to know for sure myself.

[mxmatt137]

anyone know around which month exactly is the patent bar supposed to change?

I've seen dates ranging from as early as September to broader claims such as Fall/Winter. If you find a clearer date/article on the topic, please do share. I would love to know for sure myself.

Is the change you are talking about the inclusion of AIA material?

[fatduck]

anyone know around which month exactly is the patent bar supposed to change?

I've seen dates ranging from as early as September to broader claims such as Fall/Winter. If you find a clearer date/article on the topic, please do share. I would love to know for sure myself.

Is the change you are talking about the inclusion of AIA material?

Bilski/KSR material was added in April 2011: http://www.uspto.gov/ip/boards/oed/exam ... terial.jsp
AIA material was added in January 2012: http://www.uspto.gov/ip/boards/oed/aia_ ... notice.jsp

any other supposed updates are wild speculation.

i used the bullseye materials to get an outline of the MPEP. i skimmed over the outline once, and revisited some of the major chapters (600, 700, 2100, etc) a few times. the vast majority of my prep time was spent drilling past questions (free from mypatentbar.com and patentbarquestions.com), and doing practice exams (the bullseye material had a bunch of past exams, but i think these are also freely available on the internet).

i felt fairly confident going into the exam, and i finished with a ton of time (over an hour left on the second session). i took the exam after the April 2011 updates, and there were maybe 5 questions out of 100 on bilski and KSR. i had tons of time racked up from freebies (repeated questions i'd memorized), so i just looked up the answers in the supplemental materials for bilski and KSR.

if you're willing to put in the work to find your own study materials and use them, there is no need at all to drop several grand on a PLI course or the like. however, if you have the money or lack the time, i'm sure the PLI course will prepare you to pass the exam. it's just not a hard exam. tedious, but not conceptually difficult at all. however, if the PLI course does not involve drilling/memorizing of past questions/answers, i think you'd be crazy not to supplement your studying with the free materials at mypatentbar, etc. at least 1/4 of the questions on my exam were straight up repeats. free answers.

[bio822]

Bilski/KSR material was added in April 2011: http://www.uspto.gov/ip/boards/oed/exam ... terial.jsp
AIA material was added in January 2012: http://www.uspto.gov/ip/boards/oed/aia_ ... notice.jsp

any other supposed updates are wild speculation.

i used the bullseye materials to get an outline of the MPEP. i skimmed over the outline once, and revisited some of the major chapters (600, 700, 2100, etc) a few times. the vast majority of my prep time was spent drilling past questions (free from mypatentbar.com and patentbarquestions.com), and doing practice exams (the bullseye material had a bunch of past exams, but i think these are also freely available on the internet).

i felt fairly confident going into the exam, and i finished with a ton of time (over an hour left on the second session). i took the exam after the April 2011 updates, and there were maybe 5 questions out of 100 on bilski and KSR. i had tons of time racked up from freebies (repeated questions i'd memorized), so i just looked up the answers in the supplemental materials for bilski and KSR.

if you're willing to put in the work to find your own study materials and use them, there is no need at all to drop several grand on a PLI course or the like. however, if you have the money or lack the time, i'm sure the PLI course will prepare you to pass the exam. it's just not a hard exam. tedious, but not conceptually difficult at all. however, if the PLI course does not involve drilling/memorizing of past questions/answers, i think you'd be crazy not to supplement your studying with the free materials at mypatentbar, etc. at least 1/4 of the questions on my exam were straight up repeats. free answers.

what did you do to study the the new additional material on the patent bar? i plan on using bullseye too since i really don't want to spend ~$3k or whatever the price is for PLI.

[fatduck]

Bilski/KSR material was added in April 2011: http://www.uspto.gov/ip/boards/oed/exam ... terial.jsp
AIA material was added in January 2012: http://www.uspto.gov/ip/boards/oed/aia_ ... notice.jsp

any other supposed updates are wild speculation.

i used the bullseye materials to get an outline of the MPEP. i skimmed over the outline once, and revisited some of the major chapters (600, 700, 2100, etc) a few times. the vast majority of my prep time was spent drilling past questions (free from mypatentbar.com and patentbarquestions.com), and doing practice exams (the bullseye material had a bunch of past exams, but i think these are also freely available on the internet).

i felt fairly confident going into the exam, and i finished with a ton of time (over an hour left on the second session). i took the exam after the April 2011 updates, and there were maybe 5 questions out of 100 on bilski and KSR. i had tons of time racked up from freebies (repeated questions i'd memorized), so i just looked up the answers in the supplemental materials for bilski and KSR.

if you're willing to put in the work to find your own study materials and use them, there is no need at all to drop several grand on a PLI course or the like. however, if you have the money or lack the time, i'm sure the PLI course will prepare you to pass the exam. it's just not a hard exam. tedious, but not conceptually difficult at all. however, if the PLI course does not involve drilling/memorizing of past questions/answers, i think you'd be crazy not to supplement your studying with the free materials at mypatentbar, etc. at least 1/4 of the questions on my exam were straight up repeats. free answers.

what did you do to study the the new additional material on the patent bar? i plan on using bullseye too since i really don't want to spend ~$3k or whatever the price is for PLI.

i just read the supplemental material posted by the USPTO, i.e., the pdfs on this page http://www.uspto.gov/ip/boards/oed/aia_ ... terial.jsp

keep in mind that these updates aren't really "changes to the exam" - they're just adding new questions to the question pool (and probably removing some older material). new material is introduced slowly - you'll have very few AIA questions, and probably still not many bilski/KSR questions and whatever else they added in that update (i got a question on signatures and e-filing, i think). the bulk of the questions will still be on appeals, PCT, various mechanics of 102/103 rejections, mailing procedures and whatnot.

some of these questions (especially the bilski/KSR ones) are almost certainly reported on mypatentbar.com and patentbarquestions.com (its a wiki).

[lukertin]

I took it cold like a baller, using practice exams and the MPEP.

[mxmatt137]

I took it cold like a baller, using practice exams and the MPEP.

I'm kind of partial to this. I'd really like to take the exam before fall classes really get going, but that only gives me a few weeks to study. About how long did you spend preparing?

[lukertin]

about a month. what's important is that you know really well what is in each section, since the pdf at the testing center allows you to open parts of the MPEP by section (at least that's how it was when I took it). most of the questions are procedural crap.

[fatduck]

about a month. what's important is that you know really well what is in each section, since the pdf at the testing center allows you to open parts of the MPEP by section (at least that's how it was when I took it). most of the questions are procedural crap.

it's still that way. you can open by section and ctrl+f within that section. supplemental material pdfs (recently added stuff) can also be opened and searched, individually.

honestly if you just went through all the practice exams, and looked up shit you didn't understand in the MPEP, you'd probably pass. all the practice exams have detailed explanations of the correct/incorrect answers. if you spend a week memorizing repeat questions, you'll be golden.

[sky7]

about a month. what's important is that you know really well what is in each section, since the pdf at the testing center allows you to open parts of the MPEP by section (at least that's how it was when I took it). most of the questions are procedural crap.

it's still that way. you can open by section and ctrl+f within that section. supplemental material pdfs (recently added stuff) can also be opened and searched, individually.

honestly if you just went through all the practice exams, and looked up shit you didn't understand in the MPEP, you'd probably pass. all the practice exams have detailed explanations of the correct/incorrect answers. if you spend a week memorizing repeat questions, you'll be golden.

Step 1: Download all the tests from 2000-2003
Step 2: Learn those tests like the back of your hand, and supplement it by http://patentbarquestions.com/Main_Page
Step 3: ??
Step 4: Profit.

[lukertin]

Yea I think at least a quarter of the questions on my test was a repeat from past exams, including a few repeat questions in the exam itself.

[fatduck]

oh i forgot to mention: prior exam flashcards https://docs.google.com/#folders/folder ... M3MTJhMWNk

[sky7]

oh i forgot to mention: prior exam flashcards https://docs.google.com/#folders/folder ... M3MTJhMWNk

THIS IS THE HOLY GRAIL. I used this for all the old exams (in the .zip file) as well as the flashcards.

[fatduck]

oh i forgot to mention: prior exam flashcards https://docs.google.com/#folders/folder ... M3MTJhMWNk

THIS IS THE HOLY GRAIL. I used this for all the old exams (in the .zip file) as well as the flashcards.

i also have an alternate version of the flashcards which i cropped to have one question or answer per page (useful for flashcard/memorization software, or just flipping through).

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B1CjUc ... U4YzE0ZTU4

[SpAcEmAn SpLiFF]

i'm planning to study for it in august and take it early-mid sept, right after i take the NY and NJ state bar. is this even remotely feasible?

[fatduck]

i'm planning to study for it in august and take it early-mid sept, right after i take the NY and NJ state bar. is this even remotely feasible?

yes, but just know that you must apply a couple months in advance of your desired test date

[starlitesue]

According to the USPTO website (http://www.uspto.gov/ip/boards/oed/exam/index.jsp):

"The United States Patent and Trademark Office will update the content of the registration examination on or about October 2, 2012. The updated examination will include provisions of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA) that take effect September 16, 2012."

What do you think they mean by "about"? 2 weeks either way? 1 week?