All of the material tested on the patent bar exam comes from one source — the MPEP. However, without a directed reading of the MPEP and an understanding of the emphasis of the actual exam, wading through this complex material on your own is overwhelming.

PatBar has done much of the heavy lifting for you in hand-crafting and continually updating the PatBar study guides to lead you through the MPEP. With near 20 years in the business of patent bar study materials, PatBar has developed unparalleled knowledge of the emphasis and focus of the patent bar exam in relation to the MPEP. It has painstakingly culled, analyzed and summarized the relevant sections of the MPEP for you.

The study guides are your daily bread and butter and these volumes will give you both a detailed outline and comprehensive explanation of everything you need to know, written in clear, cogent English. The PatBar study guides are without equal in effectively preparing you for the real exam, maintaining just the right balance between summary and detail.

The PatBar study guides break up the material into 1 hour capsules. We have found that this is the optimal time period to absorb each chunk of new material. Each capsule consists of a reading assignment, a summary section captioning the salient points of the reading assignment, and a series of prior exam questions and detailed answers which are correlated in scope to the reading assignment. The summary sections are conveniently provided in both written and audio format, on the PatBar audio CDs.

The study guides have been designed to reflect the structure and layout of the MPEP so that you rapidly develop an understanding of where to locate material when presented with a question you might not be able to answer off the top of your head.

PatBar understands that some areas may be particularly challenging for our clients. Our analysis and presentation of the MPEP takes these areas into account. PatBar understands the techniques that work, in learning and retaining the complex material that is tested on the patent bar exam.

PatBar provides a myriad of avenues for reviewing concepts presented in the study guides. Concepts may be reviewed by a presentation in the study guide, a table that summarizes the material, a summary in the audio lecture, a number of examples illustrating the concept, and prior exam and new questions correlated to the concepts in the study guide. We have found that providing multiple methods of preparation reinforces concepts and significantly enhances retention of this complex material.

Mastering prior exam questions is worth its weight in gold in preparing for the patent bar. As important as it is to study prior exam questions, it is essential to be able to review these questions in relation to material you are currently learning in the study guides. PatBar provides over 1,000 prior exam questions with detailed answers and explanations. More importantly, these questions are meaningfully correlated to the relevant sections of the study materials you are working on at any given time. If you are having trouble with a particular area, simply review the relevant section in the PatBar study guides and then practice your knowledge and skills using the pertinent prior exam questions collated to the corresponding study guide sections.

But mastering prior exam questions is not enough: in order to maximize your likelihood of success, you must also become familiar with current unreleased questions tested on the patent bar. PatBar places a heavy emphasis on the myriad of new questions that have not been released by the Patent Office but are know to be in circulation on the patent bar exam. Becoming acquainted with these new question areas is essential, as the exam evolves dynamically.

The new questions are often repeated from exam to exam in various permutations. PatBar has its ears to the ground and continually monitors new question activity based on the accounts of actual test takers. PatBar then highlights these new question areas along with detailed analyses in the pertinent areas of the study guides. PatBar will familiarize you with these new question areas, which will greatly improve your confidence on the actual exam; on exam day you will gracefully handle these inevitable gray areas.

PatBar understands that effective search strategies are a core pillar of your exam preparation. When you encounter a question on the patent bar exam that you cannot answer from memory alone, you will be required to very rapidly formulate a search strategy for locating the pertinent material in the MPEP. This means knowing which sections of the MPEP will be the most fruitful to search, as well as knowing particular keywords to use in your search.

PatBar facilitates your development of efficient search strategies in two ways. First, our study materials provide a structured and coherent presentation of the MPEP, which will significantly aid you in knowing where to find pertinent material in the MPEP. Second, with PatBar you will begin working on actual exam questions using an electronic MPEP immediately, so that you have time to build your abilities and confidence in finding the relevant material in the MPEP.

 

No doubt about it, PatBar provides the best exam simulation suite in the business. The focus is on actual questions from previous exams, which is where the focus should be. Just like the real exam, the exam simulation suite includes an electronic and searchable version of the MPEP. The PatBar exam simulation suite is also a must have because it most closely parallels the look, feel and operation of the software that will be thrust upon you on exam day. Some students have choked on the patent bar exam because they became overwhelmed by the mechanics of searching using the computer on exam day. Don't let this happen to you. Other patent bar review courses come up short in accurately simulating the look and feel of the actual exam. PatBar does it right. Whether you are a PC or MAC user, this software will work for you.

The audio CDs are an alternate dimension of the PatBar course. These audio CDs present a professionally narrated, audio rendition of the summary sections of each study capsule from the study guides. These are ideal to listen to in your car, or import to iTunes and listen to on your iPod, iPhone or other mp3 player. You can take these audio CDs anywhere.

PatBar provides two sets of thoughtfully conceptualized, color-coded flash cards that focus respectively on patent laws and patent rules. Mastering where material lies in the MPEP is essential to developing efficient search strategies when presented with an unfamiliar question. These flash cards are a perfect way to practice.

See three complete patent applications from start to finish. The best way to truly understand patent prosecution is to see it as practiced by experienced attorneys at large R&D departments and law firms. These examples demonstrate both paper-based and electronic applications, different levels of complexity, and show what can go wrong.

Each file wrapper contains all correspondence to and from the Patent Office, which includes the initial application, office actions and responses, right through to issue. An introduction to each by Program Director David Meeks directs your attention to points of interest as well as anomalies and mistakes and how they are dealt with. These examples give you a real-world look at the patenting process.

PatBar is standing by to answer your questions about your upcoming exam, should you so desire. We are available via telephone or e-mail and we take pride in our prompt and reliable service.