anyone here studying for patent bar?

[legaleagle3]

Anyone here studying for patent bar this summer?  Just wondering what your strategy is.  I currently have PRG books without the videos/classes, and am just chugging along.   

[jdmaxey]

I'm taking a Patent law class and am two weeks into the BAR/BRI prep material. Although I have been really distracted so far these last two weeks and haven't gotten very far. This weekend is pretty much out too so it'll be next week before I really hit it hard. I guess I'm taking a real Summer break after Spring finals. Chugging sums it up just right. Good luck.

[T. Durden]

yeah i'm doing the at-home PLI review course. needless to say my summer sucks as i'm working 30-35 hours per week at my judicial internship.

i must admit, i underestimated just how difficult this patent bar examination was goign to be. this *&^% is no joke, and the course itself requires 150 hours of independent prep time MINIMUM

i have over 39 audio CDs to listen to, hours upon hours of video lecture to watch ....

i'm not happy about this, though i'm hoping that getting it out of the way now will help my 2L job search....

as i'm reading through this stuff i'm beginning to question my desire to become a patent attorney - anyone else having the same experience?

[fiveten]

maybe you guys can answer a quick question for me...

Say I want to try to pass the patent bar at the end of the summer, is it too late for me to register for an exam?  Are exams only offered at certain times, or can you take it at any time?

[jdmaxey]

You register about two months before you want to take the test. If you haven't started studying yet then don't even try it. I've spoken with several patent attorneys and they all agreed that the patent bar makes the state bar seem simple. The exams are given anytime.

[T. Durden]

they leave no stone unturned - the PLI course maintains a 90% (+) pass rate. no other review course maintains a rate as high as PLI.

that being said, there is a reason that PLI is able to produce such a pass rate. the time commitment required by PLI is absolutely massive. this review course is daunting, there are no two ways around it. not even the MCAT required prep like this ....

[T. Durden]

if you start *NOW* you could definitely be ready to go come first or second week in august

i wouldn't wait any longer though

i hear you on the patent agent on the resume thing, i'm *hoping* that it is a huge bonus come summer job search time

[ChicagoBound]

Hey Ty, I've got a couple quick questions RE: PLI for you.

First, did you buy the course new? I've been watching the auctions on ebay and they've been going around $1500-$1600. I don't want to pay that for used material when I can buy brand new for $1795. Also, do you have the CD-ROMs or DVDs? I'm not sure which one I should pick. These are different from the audio CDs you mentioned right? What file format are the lectures in? For the audio CDs, can you rip them onto your computer to put on an MP3 player?

Finally, if you did buy a new course at the student price, how did you prove you were a student? (...I won't be starting school for 2 months and am not sure how I would prove I am a student).

Lots of questions, any answers would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

[fiveten]

yeah, that last auction went to $1681.50.  Maybe in the summer they cost more on ebay (I thought they usually go for less than $1000).  I went ahead and ordered one on-line for the student price. 

[T. Durden]

Yes I purchased the course new - I wouldn't suggest screwing around with the eBay copies as 1) you are able to maintain possession of the CDs, etc. for so long before being required to return to PLI and 2) the money saved doesn't justify shelling out that lump sum of money to some ghost on eBay.

I have CD-Rom, my buddy is using DVD. I made a mistake with the CD-ROM - get the DVD as it saves the constant shuffling of disks in and out of the player. Other than that there is no difference (apparently the DVD cannot play on your standard DVD player, i.e. you can't watch it on a normal TV).

Not sure about the lecture file format and am too lazy to check - sorry

Also not sure if you can rip the audio file to mp3 format. I haven't tried. I'm guessing that PLI would have attempted to place some sort of security measure on teh CD to prevent this sort of action as the value of the course is hugely dependent upon it remaining in the hands of a select few but who knows ... you might be able to do it...

If I remember correctly very little background research went into my classification as "student." I simply specified that 1) I am in fact a student and 2) the school that I'm attending. Other than that, no additional information was required. Given that you have been admitted, I can't imagine you encountering any problems on this front.

Anyway, good luck with your studies - let me know if you have any more questions.

Hey Ty, I've got a couple quick questions RE: PLI for you.

First, did you buy the course new? I've been watching the auctions on ebay and they've been going around $1500-$1600. I don't want to pay that for used material when I can buy brand new for $1795. Also, do you have the CD-ROMs or DVDs? I'm not sure which one I should pick. These are different from the audio CDs you mentioned right? What file format are the lectures in? For the audio CDs, can you rip them onto your computer to put on an MP3 player?

Finally, if you did buy a new course at the student price, how did you prove you were a student? (...I won't be starting school for 2 months and am not sure how I would prove I am a student).

Lots of questions, any answers would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.