Lee's Passing the Patent Bar / Patent Agent Exam (Additional Advice) Resource Page
Click here to download the PDF version of my patent bar preparation - more tips page (4 pages) (requires Adobe Acrobat reader)
First, you might want to look at my web page at <http://members.bellatlantic.net/~lkim/patent_bar_pass.html>.
This page tells you how I prepared for the patent bar exam, how I took the exam,
etc. How you take the exam especially might have an affect on what happens
post-exam (e.g., if you have to file a petition for a regrade, etc.), as
explained on the above web page.
Second, you can prepare for the patent bar exam in under a month's time. I did.
But, I just graduated from law school and was not employed, so that's all that I
did. I spent about 350 hours (the web page states the time I committed to the
exam more accurately) preparing for the exam.
Third, in preparing for the patent bar exam, I would highly recommend Kayton or
PLI. I've heard mixed things about Patbar.com study materials -- from my
classmates that used the materials (they did not pass the first time using those
materials and they were very good students). People
from both groups claimed that Patbar.com's materials had a lot of
inconsistencies or inaccuracies in them. Now, this is just word of mouth, think
of it what you will.
On the other hand, much of the learning for the patent bar exam, IMO, occurs
when you test yourself with past USPTO Q&As (it doesn't matter whether Kayton
gives you it, PLI gives you it, or if you go through past multiple choice Q&As
from the patent bar on your own). You also have to do a lot of figuring out of
things on your own (e.g., what an MPEP provision actually says, what a CFR
section actually says, what a USC provision actually says (Kayton's materials do
not always go in depth -- sometimes, he just gives a cite to the relevant
provision -- it can be frustrating)). What I did when I was going through the
past Q&As, as reprinted by Kayton, was that I highlighted each MPEP, USC, and
CFR provision which was referenced in each question; for those provisions which
were referenced more than once (or even many times), I put an asterisk beside
that provision (to alert myself that I really had to know it very well).
The best way to tackle a test such as this is to review old exams, so be sure to
hit them hard.
Fourth, even though you purchased Patbar.com study materials, I still would
recommend, if you can, purchasing a used set of Kayton videos and accompanying
lecture charts. There is so much more to be learned from the videos -- stuff
that is not included in his _Patent Practice_ treatise (which is the text for
patent bar exam preparation -- it's so voluminous that IMO it's not effective in
preparing for the patent bar exam (though it's purportedly great for patent
practice). What's contained in the videos is really good. Also, like a lot of
people, I learn best through an actual lecture (the videotaped version is the
equivalent of the classroom lectures that Kayton gives -- IMO the video version
is superior because you can literally stop, pause, or rewind in case the
lecturer is talking way too fast when you're trying to write down notes of what
he is saying).
Fifth, the amount of material for the patent bar exam can be incredibly
overwhelming. (At least for Kayton's patent bar course, because the materials
are so huge, it really is daunting.) But, just remember that many people have
passed the exam before you. You are most likely just as capable, if not more,
than they were. So, you too, can pass the patent bar exam. (Just like in
athletics, I firmly believe that test performance is directly related to the
level of confidence you have while preparing for the exam and also while taking
the exam.) I passed the patent bar exam. I am not a test taking whiz, especially
when it comes to multiple choice formatted exams.
Sixth, be sure to get a feel for testing for 6 hours. If you have taken a state
bar exam or any other exam that required you to sit 3 hours for the morning, 1
hour break, and 3 hours for the afternoon and if this experience was relatively
recent, I would say that you probably have the stamina to sit through 6 hours of
testing for the patent bar exam. If you have not gone through this type of
testing experience, I would recommend that you go through a past patent bar exam
in full and go through the sequence of 3 hours for the AM section, 1 hour break,
then 3 hours for the PM section. (I would recommend you do this anyway -- taking
at least 1 practice patent bar exam in full under testing conditions -- if you
have the time. (I did not have the time to take a practice exam in full under
timed conditions. I only had time to go through Kayton's Q&A archive of past
USPTO patent bar questions and that was all.))
====
Seventh, taking the exam. From my observations in the testing room in
Pittsburgh, how you take the patent bar exam is *not* a trivial matter. I
honestly saw quite a few people run out of time because they were looking up
questions from question #1 through question #50. You will not have the time to
look up each and every question to verify what the correct answer is. It is open
book, but don't rely on that fact too heavily or else you will get burned.
Obviously, if you run out of time answering some questions, you automatically
give up some points that you could have gotten (even just by making an educated
guess).
I would also advise that you not skip around from one question to another during
the patent bar exam. Work in sequence just so that you don't accidentally fill
in the wrong answer on your Scantron answer sheet. (I heard one guy in the
testing room complain during the lunchtime break that he did just that and
screwed up as a result. I heard another guy say that he left 10 questions
to go back and work on with respect to the AM section, but, by the time he
finished completing the AM section, he actually had forgotten to go back and
work those 10 questions.)
For long questions, make an outline of what is going on in the margin of the
test booklet. (You are also allowed highlighters. For me, I highlighted much of
my questions just so that in my mind the key facts or issues were emphasized and
I truly understood what the question was asking. This may seem very
elementary, but a frequent mistake of the people who do not pass the patent bar
exam is that they make reading errors. This is not necessarily a matter of
intelligence, but rather it is a matter of how careful and/or thorough you are
in reading through each question -- especially when the USPTO words the
questions in an awkward or unclear manner.
As you're going through the questions, highlight or mark the questions which you
are not unsure of (even the slightest bit unsure of). You don't want to "give
away" points just because you were 99% confident in an answer (what if it was
wrong?). I looked up about 25 out of 50 questions for each AM and PM section --
even the slightest bit of doubt, I looked them up. I made a lot of
erasures -- I erased maybe 10 out of 15 of the marks I had already made on my
answer sheet for those questions I was unsure of (the wooden number 2 pencils I
used with the eraser caps on each worked well for erasing my mark completely
from the Scantron sheet). While this might be frowned upon, or while I might
have looked foolish during the exam, I passed the exam -- and it's the bottom
line that really matters.
Eighth, as far as answering the questions, this was my technique: I spent 1 hour
to 1.5 hours (as it turned out) just going through and answering the 50
questions for each AM and PM section. Then, the rest of the time, 1.5 to 2
hours, I spent looking up the questions I was even the slightest bit unsure of.
(My marking the answers with either a box around the question number with my
pencil or highlighting the question number really helped -- when I went back to
double check my work, this made it so much easier.) My system actually was this:
for the questions I was really unsure of, I highlighted the question number. For
the questions I was slightly unsure of, I put a box around the question number.
I knew that I had plenty of time to look up my answers, so I was actually very
relaxed while doing this. (The more relaxed you are, the better you can
concentrate. So, this was important.)
I spent every single minute I had available to me for double checking my work.
Sure, it might have looked foolish, but heck, I did not want to give up any
points I otherwise could have gotten. I was checking my answers for both
sections until time was called. Fortunately, I was done checking my answers for
each section when time was called for that particular section.
For each question that I had to look up, I first determined what the subject
matter was of the question, looked at the relevant MPEP, CFR, or USC index, and
then marked the sections in my test booklet as to which fell under that
particular subject matter heading (that mirrored the call of the question). I
then looked up the several sections listed (this usually was the case) and then
I put a box around or otherwise highlighted the relevant provision that led me
to the correct answer and I also stated why I thought that that answer I chose
(a, b, c, or d) was correct. (At least for the October 2002 exam, the correct
answer always was (or almost always was) taken out verbatim from the MPEP
provision.) I did this because I had thought that if I needed to petition for a
regrade in case I did not pass the patent bar exam, I would at least save myself
some work in the future (post-exam) with respect to listing the relevant MPEP,
CFR, or USC provisions, and stating why I thought the answer I chose was
correct.
Let me again emphasize that you must know cold certain USPTO procedures and
practice. You will not have time to look up each and every answer. Provided that
you study hard for the exam, you will be left with a number of questions which
you can look up and verify that these answers are the correct answers.
When you're going through the questions on a first pass (go through them as
quickly as you possibly can and yet carefully read each question and all of the
answer choices), mark each answer to each question on both the test booklet (I
would mark my answer choice in pencil with a box around the answer choice, next
to the test question) and also on your Scantron sheet. I would recommend that
you do this one question at a time (as opposed to going through 5 questions and
then gridding in 5 answer choices on your Scantron sheet). I have heard of
people putting in the wrong answer choice during the "transfer process" between
the correct answers they wrote in the test booklet and then on the Scantron
answer sheet.
Ninth, even if your day goes horribly wrong (see my web page for more details),
it's not the end of the world. The night before the patent bar exam, I only got
3 hours of sleep. (I am one of those people who is a literal zombie with only 3
hours of sleep.) I did not have time to eat breakfast or grab any coffee. I
arrived at the exam testing site right on the dot (even though I had planned to
get there earlier -- didn't happen). What's more, my watch broke just an hour
before the exam.... Anyway, if any of these things happen, don't panic. I put in
so much work preparing for the patent bar exam; plus, registering for the patent
bar exam cost me $350...and my livelihood depended on it (I just graduated from
law school -- it was high time I passed the patent bar exam). So, I did not let
these things interfere with my will to pass the patent bar exam. I asked the
fellow sitting next to me if he would not mind putting his watch at the center
of the table so that I could look at it (since my watch was broken). (There was
no clock in the exam room and the test proctor had said that there would be no
time announcements at all! Not even a 5-minute warning.) Anyway, he was kind
enough that he did so. During the lunch break (which, oddly enough, was about 2
hours long), I went to the corner drugstore, bought a watch (because it was a
little uncomfortable looking at the center of the table for the time -- I was
worried that the proctor might think I'm cheating or something), got some
coffee, ate for the first time that day, etc. Hopefully, you won't be in the
situation I was in for the patent bar exam. But, even if that kind of stuff
happens, don't panic -- it won't ruin your day if you don't let it -- just do
your best and acclimate to whatever you have to. (Even though I was a pure
zombie physically, my mind felt really clear, especially for the morning section
and the answers to the questions seemed so obvious. (I was really surprised to
hear some people say, after the AM section was over, that the test was hard!))
Tenth, the night before the exam, I would recommend that you go through a quick
summary of the patent bar materials (either with a quick review outline or
anything else you have devised for the exam). Sleep on it -- these items you
have studied will be on the tip of your tongue, so to speak, for exam time. You
will have a handful of material that you just automatically know for the patent
bar exam -- the questions that you know cold for the patent bar exam which you
do not need to look up. (Hopefully, you won't be in the situation like I was,
studying until 12AM, trying to review the last bit of patent bar material -- but
if you are, don't panic -- I passed even under these less than optimum
conditions, so can you.) I also sharpened ahead of time 12 wooden pencils
(Kayton recommends using 1 pencil for every 10 questions; he also recommends
using wooden pencils, not mechanical pencils, for the multiple choice test) and
placed eraser caps on each pencil. I took with me to the exam room a
Ziploc bag consisting of the 12 wooden pencils with eraser caps, 5 mechanical
pencils (as a back-up in case something happened to a wooden pencil), and
several highlighters.
Finally, exam results come out 1.5 to 2 months after you take the exam. If you
hold on to your competitor ID number, you can look up whether you passed the
exam on the USPTO OED website. If you lost your competitor ID number (like I
did), then your exam results will come in the mail 1 or 2 days after (if you
live in the mid-Atlantic like me). The USPTO is quick about sending exam
results. If you pass, there will just be one letter which congratulates you for
passing, gives you a temporary patent practitioner number, and tells you when to
expect your registration certificate. If you don't pass, I understand that you
will get a copy of your test booklet / answers and your raw score. (You need a
raw score of 70 to pass the patent bar exam.)
Good luck!
Last updated: 10/29/2003
Questions? Comments?
E-mail me at <lee_kim_usa@yahoo.com>