PATENT BAR

[ggg458]

Is an engineering or science undergrad major required to take the patent bar, or can anyone take it?

[phosita]

From the "General Requirements Bulletin" (http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/dcom/olia/oed/examregist.htm):

III. SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL TRAINING REQUIREMENTS FOR ADMISSION TO THE
EXAMINATION
An applicant applying for the examination must demonstrate that he or she possesses the
scientific and technical training necessary to provide valuable service to patent applicants.
Applicants bear the burden of showing the requisite scientific and technical training. To be
admitted to the examination, each applicant must demonstrate possession of the required
scientific and technical training.
A. CATEGORY A: Bachelor's Degree in a Recognized Technical Subject. An applicant will be
considered to have the necessary scientific and technical training if he or she provides an
official transcript showing that a Bachelor's degree was awarded in one of the following
subjects by an accredited United States college or university, or that the equivalent to a
Bachelor's degree was awarded by a foreign university in one of the following subjects:
Biology
Biochemistry
Botany
Computer Science*
Electronics Technology
Food Technology
General Chemistry
Marine Technology
Microbiology
Molecular Biology
Organic Chemistry
Pharmacology
Physics
Textile Technology
Aeronautical Engineering
Agricultural Engineering
Biomedical Engineering
Ceramic Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Civil Engineering
Computer Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Electrochemical Engineering
Engineering Physics
General Engineering
Geological Engineering
Industrial Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Metallurgical Engineering
Mining Engineering
Nuclear Engineering
Petroleum Engineering
*Acceptable Computer Science degrees must be accredited by the
Computer Science Accreditation Commission (CSAC) of the Computing
Sciences Accreditation Board (CSAB), or by the Computing Accreditation
Commission (CAC) of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and
Technology (ABET), on or before the date the degree was awarded.
Computer science degrees that are accredited may be found on the Internet
(http://www.abet.org).

There are two other categories, B) having a certain number of semester hours in subjects like physics, chemistry, microbiology, etc.  and C) practical experience. You can find the details on the PTO website.

[florida357]

It is also very hard to get approved through practical experience.  Basically that option is only there for people who got engineering jobs when a degree wasn't really required, so a 50 year old senior engineer at BMW wouldn't have a problem getting approved, however if you are some young guy with a quasi-engineering job you will have a lot of trouble. 

[Nowhere Man]

Do you guys think a degree in Management Information Systems would be eligble?

[Felsen]

Do you guys think a degree in Management Information Systems would be eligble?

MIS isn't listed as an acceptable degree, so no.  You'd have to go back and get one of the approved degrees, or have enough hard science (Physics, Chemistry, Biology, etc.) credits to be allowed in under the alternative option.

[Nowhere Man]

Thats stupid. Oh well, let me see what else I can do now.

[T. Durden]

i just got my PLI review materials in the mail today

someone please shoot me.

[florida357]

i just got my PLI review materials in the mail today

someone please shoot me.

Haha.  Its not that bad.  Once you start catching on to the little tricks they use in the questions, its not as hard as it looks at first.

One piece of advice, I think I focused for too long on reviewing the general material.  I spent two weeks going through the rules, and then four weeks doing practice tests.  A lot of the stuff I did going over the rules was worthless because the patent bar actually focuses on certain narrow issues..

[phosita]

One piece of advice, I think I focused for too long on reviewing the general material.  I spent two weeks going through the rules, and then four weeks doing practice tests.  A lot of the stuff I did going over the rules was worthless because the patent bar actually focuses on certain narrow issues..

That's great advice. I'd start with a couple of practice tests so you can see what MPEP chapters the exam focuses on. Then you can prioritize your studying accordingly.

 

[Jackson Smith]

Are all these degrees equal in demand? That is, would it be worth it to go and get a botany degree so as to qualify me for patent work, or would somebody with a mechanical engineering degree be more valuable?