2008 Paper Patent Bar Dates

The United States Patent Office recently announced that they will be giving the Patent Bar Exam in paper format on July 23, 2008 and Jul 24, 2008.  This is a yearly ritual that began when the Patent Bar Examination went to an on-demand computer format.  Since that time the PTO has given the exam at its own facility in Alexandria, Virginia to accommodate individuals who for whatever reason do not wish to take, or cannot take, a computerized examination. 

Monday, April 21, 2008 is the deadline for filing applications to take the paper examination.  You must also submit the application along with the appropriate application fee and the $450.00 examination fee and all necessary information as required by 37 CFR § 11.7(a) and § 11.7(b).

Due to limited seating and the uncertainty of the number of persons applying to take the examination, the Patent Office says that it is possible that not everyone will be able to take the examination on the same date. Accordingly, the first group of approved applicants filling the available seats will be scheduled to take the examination on Wednesday, July 23, 2008. The next group of approved applicants will be scheduled to take the examination on Thursday, July 24, 2008. Applicants granted admission will be assigned a testing date for the first available date until all test dates are filled. The Office of Enrollment and Discipline (OED) will notify applicants of their scheduled examination date.

The USPTO administered examination will use paper examination booklets, mark-sense answer sheets, and the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP) furnished by the Office. For further information and the application form, consult the General Requirements Bulletin available on the Internet at the following Web address:

http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/dcom/gcounsel/oed.htm

Applications filed on or after Tuesday, April 22, 2008 will not be considered for the July 2008 examination. A timely filed application is one that is received in the Office on or before April 21, 2008, or mailed on or before April 21, 2008, in full compliance with the certificate of mailing provisions of 37 CFR § 1.8, or 37 CFR § 1.10. Please consult the provisions of 37 CFR §§ 1.8 and 1.10.

For those who are looking for a patent bar review course, I have taught for  years in the PLI Patent Bar Review Course and believe it to be an excellent course.  While you can always choose to take the course via home study, upcoming live course dates are below:

March  26-30, 2008 – Chicago, IL

May 14-18, 2008 – New York, NY

June 4-8, 2008 – Houston, TX

June 25-29, 2008 – Boston, MA

July 16-20, 2008 – Southern CA