New Patent Bar Online Exam - Prometric

[patentgirl141]

hi all, im a frequent visitor on this site and its provided wonderful advice and information, so i decided to finally signup and have a few questions about the patent bar (if you have any thoughts, that would be great! - although i would prefer it from people who have taken it recently i.e. w/in the last 4 months)! -

fyi, ive done the PLI and am ready to schedule my exam soon! ive done the '03 and '02 exams, and im also aware of mypatentbar and patentbarquestions


1) What was your study approach? ( i know it varies - but if you had to do it all over then what would you focus more/less on, and dont tell me to read all 171 pages of this thread lol, actually there hasnt been much update to this thread regarding this!)

2) How many repeats (verbatim, or modified) did you recognize?

3) is it worth going through the '01-'99 exams? will i see any repeats from there?

4) how did you know you were ready? like could you read a question, e.g. Potter, and be like oh "commonly owned", next! lOL

lastly, did you check out your center before you actually took it, and can i bring pencils or are they provided (i couldnt find any info on the latter in my PTO admission letter)

Specific question to Outphase:
- do you remember if your ~36 repeats were word for word, or were the answers/questions slightly modified? were you surprised to see so many repeats? that seems like a lot, and i hope i get luckY!!!
- did you do any of the '99 or '00 exams?

[jamestyler]

Ok, I'll bite.

1) What was your study approach? ( i know it varies - but if you had to do it all over then what would you focus more/less on, and dont tell me to read all 171 pages of this thread lol, actually there hasnt been much update to this thread regarding this!)

I used the Bullseye Patent Bar Exam www.patentbarexamprep.com review materials.  I did not have prior experience, so I used the materials to self-teach.  They were geared to those that don't have any experience.  I mostly drilled on the recent exams, the outline that the course provided, and questions sets of repeats and questions organized by mpep chapter.  Did that in the weeks leading up the to the exam and passed the first time.   

2) How many repeats (verbatim, or modified) did you recognize?

At least 20, but it might have been as high as 30-ish.  Definitely helped to see a bunch of familiar questions.

3) is it worth going through the '01-'99 exams? will i see any repeats from there?

Yeah, at least the '00 and '01 exams have a couple of repeats.  The course I used - Bullseye Patent Bar Exam Prep - they had a list of repeated questions pulled from the past exams.  I just read through that summary over and over to memorize the repeats.

4) how did you know you were ready? like could you read a question, e.g. Potter, and be like oh "commonly owned", next! lOL

Yes, that was how it was like.  Also, I could take the '02 and '03 tests and score around 96+% on them.  I felt confident after that.

lastly, did you check out your center before you actually took it, and can i bring pencils or are they provided (i couldnt find any info on the latter in my PTO admission letter)

I did not check the test center.  I don't think you can bring any of your own stuff into the testing center.  They provided pencils to use on the exam

[mdavis68]

J.J. Smith filed a nonprovisional application on date1. Which of the following can have a proper 102(e) date?

a) Pending nonprovisional application by another that claims the same invention, filed before date1
b) A prior patent by J.J. Smith
c) A PCT application published under 21(2) in English
d) A published article, filed before date1
e) All of the above

Which one is correct answer?

[Sixes]

J.J. Smith filed a nonprovisional application on date1. Which of the following can have a proper 102(e) date?

a) Pending nonprovisional application by another that claims the same invention, filed before date1
b) A prior patent by J.J. Smith
c) A PCT application published under 21(2) in English
d) A published article, filed before date1
e) All of the above

Which one is correct answer?

(a) looks right to me.  It isn't (e) because (d) is wrong.  Without looking it up, I think that (b) is wrong because you can't 102(e) yourself and (c) might be wrong because (maybe) it is the national phase application date that receives the 102(e) date. 

[outphase]

1) What was your study approach? ( i know it varies - but if you had to do it all over then what would you focus more/less on, and dont tell me to read all 171 pages of this thread lol, actually there hasnt been much update to this thread regarding this!)
...
4) how did you know you were ready? like could you read a question, e.g. Potter, and be like oh "commonly owned", next! lOL

lastly, did you check out your center before you actually took it, and can i bring pencils or are they provided (i couldnt find any info on the latter in my PTO admission letter)

Specific question to Outphase:
- do you remember if your ~36 repeats were word for word, or were the answers/questions slightly modified? were you surprised to see so many repeats? that seems like a lot, and i hope i get luckY!!!
- did you do any of the '99 or '00 exams?

1. I signed up for OmniPrep a long time ago, but I feel I learned most just by taking exams ad nauseum.
4. I knew I was ready the day before when I finished the Oct 2003 AM exam getting 48/50 and PM getting 44/50 with no referencing of the MPEP.

To the blue questions, I believe 1 was reworded in the answer choices to be more broad. The past answers had specific names in the answer choices, but my exam spoke more broadly, i.e., "Patent to X" vs. "US patent." Other than that, the questions I marked down on my scratch paper as a repeat were verbatim from past exams or more recent "big name" questions like VELCRO or the mirror.

I did the April 2000 - Oct. 2003 exams because those were on the OmniPrep site. I didn't know there was a Nov. 1999 exam until I was working on the 2001 exams. On patentbarquestions.com, takers indicated that there was only 1 repeated question, so I didn't bother with it. I would still take the 2000 exam to provide a backbone.

[patentgirl141]

Ok, I'll bite.

1) What was your study approach? ( i know it varies - but if you had to do it all over then what would you focus more/less on, and dont tell me to read all 171 pages of this thread lol, actually there hasnt been much update to this thread regarding this!)

I used the Bullseye Patent Bar Exam www.patentbarexamprep.com review materials.  I did not have prior experience, so I used the materials to self-teach.  They were geared to those that don't have any experience.  I mostly drilled on the recent exams, the outline that the course provided, and questions sets of repeats and questions organized by mpep chapter.  Did that in the weeks leading up the to the exam and passed the first time.   

2) How many repeats (verbatim, or modified) did you recognize?

At least 20, but it might have been as high as 30-ish.  Definitely helped to see a bunch of familiar questions.

3) is it worth going through the '01-'99 exams? will i see any repeats from there?

Yeah, at least the '00 and '01 exams have a couple of repeats.  The course I used - Bullseye Patent Bar Exam Prep - they had a list of repeated questions pulled from the past exams.  I just read through that summary over and over to memorize the repeats.

4) how did you know you were ready? like could you read a question, e.g. Potter, and be like oh "commonly owned", next! lOL

Yes, that was how it was like.  Also, I could take the '02 and '03 tests and score around 96+% on them.  I felt confident after that.

lastly, did you check out your center before you actually took it, and can i bring pencils or are they provided (i couldnt find any info on the latter in my PTO admission letter)

I did not check the test center.  I don't think you can bring any of your own stuff into the testing center.  They provided pencils to use on the exam

Thank you, this is very helpful and reassuring. I have also done the '03 and '02 exams and have scored very high like you!

[patentgirl141]

1) What was your study approach? ( i know it varies - but if you had to do it all over then what would you focus more/less on, and dont tell me to read all 171 pages of this thread lol, actually there hasnt been much update to this thread regarding this!)
...
4) how did you know you were ready? like could you read a question, e.g. Potter, and be like oh "commonly owned", next! lOL

lastly, did you check out your center before you actually took it, and can i bring pencils or are they provided (i couldnt find any info on the latter in my PTO admission letter)

Specific question to Outphase:
- do you remember if your ~36 repeats were word for word, or were the answers/questions slightly modified? were you surprised to see so many repeats? that seems like a lot, and i hope i get luckY!!!
- did you do any of the '99 or '00 exams?

1. I signed up for OmniPrep a long time ago, but I feel I learned most just by taking exams ad nauseum.
4. I knew I was ready the day before when I finished the Oct 2003 AM exam getting 48/50 and PM getting 44/50 with no referencing of the MPEP.

To the blue questions, I believe 1 was reworded in the answer choices to be more broad. The past answers had specific names in the answer choices, but my exam spoke more broadly, i.e., "Patent to X" vs. "US patent." Other than that, the questions I marked down on my scratch paper as a repeat were verbatim from past exams or more recent "big name" questions like VELCRO or the mirror.

I did the April 2000 - Oct. 2003 exams because those were on the OmniPrep site. I didn't know there was a Nov. 1999 exam until I was working on the 2001 exams. On patentbarquestions.com, takers indicated that there was only 1 repeated question, so I didn't bother with it. I would still take the 2000 exam to provide a backbone.

This very good advice, thanks for your other comments also! 

[liljaykt]

I have a couple of questions about how the computer program actually works.

(1) When you want to look at the MPEP, does it appear next to, or on top of the question?

(2) Can you use keyboard commands (such as CRTL + F, for find)?

(3) Can you use the scrolling device on the mouse or do you have to use the UP/DOWN arrows on the side of the window?

(3) Once you open the MPEP, does it stay open for the entire test, or do you have to reopen it for every question?

(4) Are there any other things that caught you off guard about the way the test program itself worked that you wish you would have been prepared for?

Thanks!

           

[outphase]

I have a couple of questions about how the computer program actually works.

(1) When you want to look at the MPEP, does it appear next to, or on top of the question?

You get a movable window on top of the question screen.

(2) Can you use keyboard commands (such as CRTL + F, for find)?

No, but there is a button for Find and Find Next. I never got used to this even by the end of the test.

(3) Can you use the scrolling device on the mouse or do you have to use the UP/DOWN arrows on the side of the window?

You can use the mouse wheel. If you do a single click inside the MPEP window, you can trigger auto-scroll.

(3) Once you open the MPEP, does it stay open for the entire test, or do you have to reopen it for every question?

You have to close it to answer the question, but the button is always on the screen to reopen it. Your place is saved unless you change chapters.

(4) Are there any other things that caught you off guard about the way the test program itself worked that you wish you would have been prepared for?

Not really. I trained myself to search using the PDF in a linear form. I used the mac firefox pdf plugin, so it can only search linearly instead of Preview.app or Adobe Reader's recent version. I guess I was surprised by the table of contents on the side because I was just using the PDF in firefox, but the table shows up in Adobe Reader and Preview.app.

[patentgirl141]

hiii, does anyone know what happens upon passing? what is the time frame to receive confirmation from the PTO? is there anything i need to sign, and when does my name go on that PTO public list?

i want to say that im an agent in my job apps. and resume (advice how you would write this on resume?), can i do this or must i wait?? i hope its not too long of a wait?

[outphase]

hiii, does anyone know what happens upon passing? what is the time frame to receive confirmation from the PTO? is there anything i need to sign, and when does my name go on that PTO public list?

i want to say that im an agent in my job apps. and resume (advice how you would write this on resume?), can i do this or must i wait?? i hope its not too long of a wait?

I took my exam on Friday, and I got my official results today (Thursday). There are two forms that you need to fill out, and one of which must be notarized. When the USPTO gets the forms and $100 (37 CFR 1.21(a)(2)), your name will be placed on the list.

From the results letter: "You may not hold yourself out as a registered patent attorney or patent agent until the Office of Enrollment and Discipline has given your application final approval." (Emphasis theirs). What you can do is indicate that you passed the exam and are pending registration. They will know that passing exam is the hard part, and everything else following is just a formality.

[patentgirl141]

hiii, does anyone know what happens upon passing? what is the time frame to receive confirmation from the PTO? is there anything i need to sign, and when does my name go on that PTO public list?

i want to say that im an agent in my job apps. and resume (advice how you would write this on resume?), can i do this or must i wait?? i hope its not too long of a wait?

I took my exam on Friday, and I got my official results today (Thursday). There are two forms that you need to fill out, and one of which must be notarized. When the USPTO gets the forms and $100 (37 CFR 1.21(a)(2)), your name will be placed on the list.

From the results letter: "You may not hold yourself out as a registered patent attorney or patent agent until the Office of Enrollment and Discipline has given your application final approval." (Emphasis theirs). What you can do is indicate that you passed the exam and are pending registration. They will know that passing exam is the hard part, and everything else following is just a formality.

Great, thanks again for letting me know!

[gkrboyan]

Hi Guys,

i am seeking some help. i am trying to take the patent bar but do not know how to prepare myself. Is it worth taking hte Bar/Bri class ($1000) or just getting hte supplementary supplies to study on my own (which costs almost the same amount)?

i just do not know if it would actually give me an advantage if i take these courses or buy the study guides.

If you guys dont mind me asking, how does the majority of people study?

[liljaykt]

I have noticed a lot of people mention that Chapter 1800 Patent Cooperation Treaty is tested heavily on the exam. Since there are not really any practice questions on this chapter, how would you recommend studying for it? What basic principles do you need to know?

Thanks!

[Robert K S]

Off the top of my head...

- Know how to calculate various deadlines... There will be some trick questions in this area.
- Know what forms of correspondence are acceptable (e.g., you cannot submit your application by fax).
- Know what the minimum requirements are for a filing date.
- Know what kinds of applicants are eligible to submit to the USRO.