The online version of the PES Patent Bar Review course was completely updated for the March 16, 2016 changes in February. The new changes revolve around the switch from the Edition 9 MPEP + exam notices to Edition 9, Revision 07.2015 MPEP + exam notices.
We estimate that we spent around 350 hours of time getting every aspect of the course ready for this new update. Please make sure if you’re planning on taking the Patent Bar exam that you are studying with the right version of the MPEP (Edition 9, Revision 07.2015).
This revision includes the Patent Law Treaties Implementation Act of 2012 (PLTIA) and the Hague Agreement. Additional changes were also made.
If you’d like to learn more about the changes and see their extent, you may download the Change Summary from the MPEP webpage. The Change Summary is 125 pages in length. Each page of that PDF is full of changes and the changes encompass nearly every MPEP chapter.
All these changes to the MPEP were completely updated in the PES Patent Bar review course. We spent the time updating our course and essentially re-built much of it from the ground up for you. Here’s a breakdown of where the 350 hours of time were spent.
Step I: Basic Patent Training
This is a the fundamentals course where you learn the basics of patent law. We suggest that new clients start here whether they have a background in patent law or not.
It takes about 8 to 12 hours to go through this fundamentals course including reviewing modules, taking quizzes, and learning patent law terms from the glossary. We added many new terms and made adjustments to the course where need be. Only about 15 hours of time was spent here since this course only covers the basics.
Step II: Guidebooks to Patent Law
This step involves mastering the MPEP including learning many facts from the MPEP, what’s most likely to be tested, and where the material can be found within the MPEP. You’ll have the MPEP the day of the exam, so it makes sense to have a study tool that follows along with it. This update consists of using a different version of the MPEP. The new version includes changes from nearly every chapter so this is where we spent most of our time.
Here are the chapters that were either completely re-created or included sections that were entirely re-created:
- 200: Types, Cross-Noting, and Status of Application
- 500: Receipt and Handling of Mail and Papers
- 600: Parts, Form, and Content of Application
- 700: Examination of Applications
- 1300: Allowance and Issue
- 1500: Design Patents
- 1800: Patent Cooperation Treaty
- 2100: Patentability
- 2900: International Design Applications
Most every chapter was updated, but those mentioned above were overhauled or near to it. That means the sections and the Workbook quizzes were re-done based on the changes to the new MPEP.
Where summaries and the Video Digests needed to be adjusted, we made those adjustments. Some chapters only had minor changes and we updated those where need be.
Most of our update time was spent getting the Guidebooks and Workbook quizzes completely updated. The time estimate to completely update the Guidebooks and Workbook quizzes was about 275 hours.
Step III: PatExam Engine
There are always right around 500 updated exam questions in the PatExam Engine. This time is no different with around 520 questions. Over 30 new questions were added. Each and every one of the previous 500 questions were evaluated to determine if they still fit with the current laws and rules. Where they did not, they were adjusted. A handful were thrown out.
We also organize the questions by topic (which is a feature many clients really appreciate). There were a couple of topics that didn’t make sense to keep and several others were added (like a topic on International Design Applications covered in Chapter 2900).
About 50 hours of time was spent updating the PatExam Engine.
Additional Materials
Additional materials include the detailed study planners and the MPEP Breakdown course in addition to the links within the course. This took about 10 hours to complete.
As mentioned, the online course has been fully updated since the end of February. We had many clients who started preparing for post March 16th, 2016 exams as early as December since we had a head start on updating the course.
Update Process and Successes
We have had great success with our update process over the years. We’ve offered our course since 2001 and have been a trusted resources for many scientists, engineers, and attorneys studying for the Patent Bar since then. Here are two recent success stories that just came in over the last week:
“PES was a great study tool for me. I became very familiar with the types of questions I would see on the exam. Thankfully my hard work payed off!
I spent 6 months preparing for the test. Average of about 8-10 hours of study per week. The last month or so was solely exam simulator, with two full length exams taken on the two days prior to the actual exam.”
SEK, Patent Agent
Sent in on March 11, 2016
“Took the exam on Monday and PASSED! Thanks again for all the help and for being so responsive to my questions.
This is a very well thought out and organized course. The materials are up to date, well vetted for relevance, and the PES staff was extremely helpful when it came to answering my questions about the exam and the materials presented. I would recommend this course to anyone thinking about sitting for the USPTO Registration Examination.”
Vincent J. Wegher P.E., Esq.
Sent in on March 10, 2016
We’d like to help you pass this exam too. If you have any questions on the PES Patent Bar Review course, the Patent Bar exam, or whether or not you qualify to sit for the exam, please don’t hesitate to ask us.