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(Message started by: Gauge on Apr 6^th, 2006, 8:55am)

Title: Buying study materials off of Ebay
Post by Gauge on Apr 6^th, 2006, 8:55am

I am considering buying some used study materials off of ebay for the patent bar exam. Can anyone think of anything I should know about before doing this?

Title: Re: Buying study materials off of Ebay
Post by Isaac on Apr 6^th, 2006, 10:09am

I've heard scuttlebutt that there is some amount misrepresentation concerning the recency of materials offered on Ebay. I suspect that some of the material being offered does not come from people who have taken the course, but rather from speculators.

I have no first hand experience.

Title: Re: Buying study materials off of Ebay
Post by TataBoxInhibitor on Apr 6^th, 2006, 7:26pm

Just make sure you get the most updated versions, or at least a password and code to get to those versions. Ask about the condition. I know my materials had coffee stains, torn pages and marks all over the place. Make sure it is also complete. I still believe in ebay.

Title: Re: Buying study materials off of Ebay
Post by patent.b on Apr 7^th, 2006, 8:50am

EBay is great, but there is more to be concerned about than the age and condition of the materials.
PRG/Kayton's specifically prohibits resale or use of their CD by other than the original purchaser, and other courses may do so, too. I found the CD the most helpful part of the study program, so not having that would be a real detriment, in my opinion.
I've read about an applicant being flagged for moral character based on purchasing and using used prep materials--don't know which provider, but if you haven't already, you should find those posts and read them before you make your decision.
Good Luck!

Title: Re: Buying study materials off of Ebay
Post by John Rigger on Apr 9^th, 2006, 9:32pm

Hello,
I really dont think you have to worry about resale issues. I bought that same course years ago, I resold it and I know many other people who do the same. Make sure you get the complete course on ebay. I find it interesting that you can pay 2K or more for something, and not be able to resell it for a couple hundred dollars. You bought the books, they are yours, you can do what you want.

Title: Re: Buying study materials off of Ebay
Post by June on Jun 7^th, 2006, 10:33pm

I think that if you're already somewhat familiar with patent law concepts, such as by taking a patent law class in law school, then you will be fine studying older materials. You can save a couple of grand if you buy materials 2-3 years old off of e-bay.

I took the patent bar exam a week ago and passed. The strategy that worked for me was: (1) i read through the materials provided in a PLI course that was 3 years old; This gave me a good general background and the general rules about each topic likely to be covered on the exam.

(2) Then, I did the past tests on the PTO website and memorized the answers to these question. I also took 2 additional past exams that I found on another website. Try to do enough exams so that you're consistently scoring at least in the upper seventies by the time you're finished. I took some of the exams on paper, and some on the software offered by the following website:

http://www.catprep.com/exams/patent-bar/index.html

The software was great b/c it was much like the actual test. Plus, it's pretty much free. They only charge you $2-$3 if you wants to save and grade your exam. I highly recommend it.

My strategy for the exam: I found that there were 16 repeat questions on the 1st half of the exam and 14 repeat questions on the 2nd second half. These were repeated largely from the 3 most recent exams that are posted on the PTO website. So, I memorized the answers to the questions in these 3 exams, and then I pretty much had enough time to look the rest of the stuff up if the answer wasn't clear.

Anyways, I hope this helps! And best of luck if you're taking the patent bar anytime soon. :)