Choosing a patent bar course ...
April 19, 2007 12:12 PM Subscribe
I want to take a patent bar exam review course. There are quite a few around. Can anyone help my choose? Maybe list some pros and cons of the course you took if you cannot compare courses. Saving money is not an issue - passing is!!!
If money is no object, PRG's review course is generally considered to be one of the best out there. I didn't take that one (because money was a factor), but I had the chance to peruse a colleague's materials from the PRG course, and they were *really* good.
PRG's strength is that they've broken down every thing about the patent bar to make it easier to learn and then regurgitate for the test. I know a lot of biglaw firms have their associates take PRG, but its also probably the best course to take if you have little or no legal training - they really cut through some of the difficult language of the patent laws and regs.
When I took the patent bar, I used the Patbar.com home study course. When I took it a few years back, it was about half the price - which is one of the course's main attractions. Patbar primarily reprints a lot of publicly available materials (the MPEP, previous questions, statutes, regs, et al.), but they do organize and structure it for you as a home-study course. Its not a bad course, but it requires tremendous self-discipline. Also, when I took it, I already had 2 semester's worth of patent law classes plus some patent work experience, so the patent legalese wasn't as cumbersome.
One last note, I'd pay little attention to the "pass rates" advertised by the various review companies... IMHO, they're a pretty unreliable measure to base your decision off of. You can pass the patent bar with *any* review course, the most critical factor to passing is *your* effort in studying.
posted by dicaxpuella at 3:13 PM on April 19, 2007
PRG's strength is that they've broken down every thing about the patent bar to make it easier to learn and then regurgitate for the test. I know a lot of biglaw firms have their associates take PRG, but its also probably the best course to take if you have little or no legal training - they really cut through some of the difficult language of the patent laws and regs.
When I took the patent bar, I used the Patbar.com home study course. When I took it a few years back, it was about half the price - which is one of the course's main attractions. Patbar primarily reprints a lot of publicly available materials (the MPEP, previous questions, statutes, regs, et al.), but they do organize and structure it for you as a home-study course. Its not a bad course, but it requires tremendous self-discipline. Also, when I took it, I already had 2 semester's worth of patent law classes plus some patent work experience, so the patent legalese wasn't as cumbersome.
One last note, I'd pay little attention to the "pass rates" advertised by the various review companies... IMHO, they're a pretty unreliable measure to base your decision off of. You can pass the patent bar with *any* review course, the most critical factor to passing is *your* effort in studying.
posted by dicaxpuella at 3:13 PM on April 19, 2007
Get a copy of the CFR and the MPEP. Read them cover to cover and know where to look to find your answers. Write claims and have a real patent attorney critique them. You are then ready. Don't let the high non-pass percentage fool you, this is an easy exam if you prepare for it.
posted by caddis at 9:45 PM on April 19, 2007
posted by caddis at 9:45 PM on April 19, 2007
BarBri and PMBR did me up good. I crammed on the multistate the last 14 days. Must have worked 13 hours a day, solid with very regimented breaks playing Age of Empires II for five minutes every hour.
posted by Ironmouth at 10:25 PM on April 20, 2007
posted by Ironmouth at 10:25 PM on April 20, 2007
damn, didn't read the question. Don't tell anyone I'm a lawyer.
posted by Ironmouth at 10:25 PM on April 20, 2007
posted by Ironmouth at 10:25 PM on April 20, 2007
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Pros:
- The lecturers were very engaging, and will generally not put you to sleep, but YMMV
- The provided software for drilling and reviewing was pretty good (it's the same StudySmart softare used in the Bar/Bri bar review courses)
- Covered enough information for me to pass the patent bar
Cons:- Back when I took the patent bar (March 2006), the exam started having more questions on the PCT, which the course did not cover in as much detail as I would've liked.
- It's strictly a course teaching you enough of the MPEP how to pass the patent bar exam. They don't teach you the background theory as it relates to patent law nor does it teach you how to practice patent law. Sometimes they'd tell you the date for doing X or Y is j months after Z, without telling you exactly what X, Y, or Z is, and why you'd want to do X or Y.
As for some general advice, the key to passing the patent bar is being very familiar with the MPEP. Have a general idea of what each chapter contains, and be very proficient at using the index. Do a lot of practice problems, especially old exams, because the patent bar exam will recycle a lot of old exam questions.The forums at this forum also has great advice and information on the patent bar exam.
posted by gyc at 1:03 PM on April 19, 2007