This year we focused on making your experience better, with new features and improvements that will make preparing for the Patent Bar exam a smoother experience.
We wanted to recap some of the exciting changes that were released this year and also want to take the opportunity to wish you a safe and happy holiday (and a happy end to 2014).
1. MPEP Updates
This year the Patent Bar saw two major MPEP Revision updates; the first on January 24th and the second on October 4th.
Starting on January 24th, the PTO tested over the MPEP 8th Edition, Revision 9 + newly published USPTO policy and procedure reference materials. Between January 24th and October 3rd, test takers had 14 different supplements in addition to the massive MPEP.
Then beginning on October 4th, the PTO began testing on the 9th Edition MPEP + a few supplements. We’ve been updating our course every step of the way for enrollees. Everything in the course is currently updated for the 9th Edition MPEP (which will be tested through 2015).
2. Added in More AIA Practice Exam Questions
The course includes an AIA mini practice exam in addition to several dozen additional questions updated for the AIA within the PatExam Engine™ question bank.
3. Quiz and Practice Exams Now Mobile Friendly
The Basic Patent Training™ quizzes, Workbook quizzes, and PatExam Engine™ were updated to a new mobile friendly format. This means you can take these quizzes and practice exams on the go from a tablet or smart phone (iPhones and Android devices are supported).
4. Detailed Study Planners
You can now choose from 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, and 12 month study plans. These study plans walk you through exactly what you should be doing EACH and EVERY day during the plan with detailed notes. Just transfer the tasks to a day planner or print them out and check them off as you go along. In addition, we have a study planner wizard to help you figure out which plan to use (if you’re not already sure of your timeline).
5. MPEP Search Strategy + MPEP Classification Quiz
A 19-page document outlines a very precise search strategy for using the MPEP for test question look-up on exam day. In addition, we’ve added a 100+ question quiz covering the location of the most heavily tested topics within the MPEP.
6. Score Keeper Application
The Score Keeper application was created this year. This application allows you to keep track of all your quiz and practice exam scores. Quickly see what you’re scoring well on and what you need to spend more time on.
7. MPEP Chapter Ranking System
Each chapter of the MPEP now includes details to help you prioritize the time you spend studying that chapter. Find out how that chapter rates based on its importance relative to the Patent Bar exam, the volume of the material covered, the complexity level, and see an overall score for the chapter.
8. Basic Patent Training™ Course Now Includes Video
The Basic Patent Training™ course was updated for the AIA and Edition 9 of the MPEP earlier this year. In addition, we now include a video format for this course. You can watch, listen to, or read the course and take updated quizzes to test your knowledge.
9. MPEP Section Summaries
We spent over a month summarizing each and every section of the MPEP in our Guidebooks in even greater detail than before. Now even subsections include quick summaries. Reviewing the summaries will help you learn what any particular MPEP section or subsection covers as well as provide you with insights on the details presented in that section.
10. PatExam Engine™ Question Updates
Finally, every question in our PatExam Engine™ question bank has been reviewed for accuracy and updated where necessary. Each question along with the explanations were reviewed for MPEP 9th Edition cross-referencing as well as additional updates and concerns.
Those are the major improvements to the course. In addition, we’ve been busy upgrading the member’s interface. This includes making the web-pages mobile friendly as well as many other enhancements like nicer formatting within the Guidebooks.
Many of these improvements were based on user feedback.
Hearing your feedback has been very helpful for making these improvements. Check out what a few enrollees have shared with us this year:
- I passed the exam back in July and received my registration number shortly after. The interface you guys offer is very effective and easy to use. I couldn’t recall the details of the questions right after the exam, but I can say that following the guide was key to passing on exam day.
- I have just passed the bar; I want to thank you for your website which was very useful to study for this exam!!!
- The old USPTO exam content is just not enough anymore. I really needed the quizzes, exams, and advise from PES to succeed! I already have clients calling me, thank you Lisa and PES!
We are excited to see so many individuals enrolling in and succeeding with our course. We thank you for spreading the word about our course and look forward to future improvements over the next year (we already have many in the works).
If you’d like to give the course a try, we suggest you enroll in the free demo where you can see everything in action and even get started.
Wishing you a Happy New Year!