Calender
DAY 1 – May 17
- 8 am - First hour
Introduction to Exam, Course, Materials and Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP)
- 9 am - Second hour
Access, Secrecy and Foreign Filing (MPEP 100)
- 10 am - Third hour
Inventorship, Priority, Cross-Noting (MPEP 200)
- 11 am - Fourth hour
Ownership and Assignments (MPEP 300) - Mini-Exam I
- LUNCH
- 1pm - Fifth hour
Lunch Exercise #1
- 2 pm - Sixth hour
Review Mini-Exam I and Lunch Exercise #1
- 3 pm – 5 pm – Seventh and Eighth Hour
Review morning lectures
DAY 2 – May 18
- 8 am – 10 am
35 USC 102
This section of the course helps you understand and clear the basic hurdle to obtaining a patent - prior art. You'll thoroughly review code section 35 U.S.C. 102, with the help of multiple Exam questions for every section. By the end of the day, youll become a "102 machine" capable of grinding through any Exam question fact pattern.
- 11 am
35 USC 102 Mini-Exam II and Review
- 1 pm
Evening Tutorial - Prosecution Timeline
Homework #1 and Reading
- 2 pm –5 pm
Tutorial and Review of morning lectures
DAY 3 – MAY 19
- You'll continue through the MPEP and Exam-Focus Study Guide, with each section analyzed through the lens of Exam questions.
- 8 am
Homework Review
- 9 am
Representative of Inventor or Owner, Ethics (MPEP 400)
This session on ethics and representation of others before the Patent Office begins with a review of the nature of the relationship between the attorney and the client. The session continues with fictional representational and ethical scenarios where the result of an ethical choice is explained in accordance with the relevant rules. Special emphasis is placed on the duty owed by the attorney or agent to the PTO and to the client and how the Rules of Conduct resolve these issues. Ethical advertising and fee sharing is also covered both in lecture form and in exam question review. The practice distinction between attorney work and agent work is also covered. The final issue is the special rule 10.18(b) that covers attorneys as well as clients and anyone else who makes representations in writing before the PTO.
- 10 am
Receipt and Handling of Mail and Papers (MPEP 500)
- 11 am
Parts, Form and Content of Application (MPEP 600)
- LUNCH
- 1 pm
Lunch Exercise #2
- 2 pm
Mini-Exam III and Review
- 3 pm – 5 pm
Tutorials and Review of morning lectures
DAY 4 – MAY 20
- 8 am
Claim Drafting Concepts, Jargon and Rules
Although Exam candidates are no longer obliged to write an actual claim in longhand, claim drafting remains a fundamental part of the Exam and appears in 25% to 33% of the Exam questions. With this in mind, the afternoon focuses on teaching the basics of claim drafting and how its various aspects are tested, with reference to actual Exam questions.
- 9 am
Claim Drafting Methodology
- 10 am
Claim Drafting Exercise I and Review
- 11 am
Evening Tutorial - Claim Drafting
Homework #2 and Claim Drafting
- LUNCH
- 1 PM – 5 PM
Tutorials AND Review of Morning Lectures
DAY 5 – MAY 21
- In this session, you’ll concentrate on the most tested portion of the MPEP on the Exam - Chapter 700, Examination of Applications. Here, many of the principles - including the heavily tested 35 U.S.C. 102 and claim drafting materials - are assembled into an integral whole, with periods for response to office actions and a review of strategies for overcoming rejections. As always, Exam questions and their answers are inserted throughout the lectures to illustrate the teaching points.
- 8 am
Examination, 35 USC 103, Periods of Response (MPEP 700)
- 9 am
Final Rejections and Interviews (MPEP 700)
- 10 am
Abandonment and Revival, and Swearing Back (MPEP 700)
- 11 am
Mini-Exam IV
- LUNCH
- 1 pm
Lunch Exercise #3
- 2 pm
Review Mini-Exam IV
- 3 pm – 5 pm
Tutorial and Review of Morning Lectures
DAY 6 – MAY 24
- This section helps you put together everything that has been taught in the course to this point. You'll cover an entire application file history - from initial filing to final rejection and allowance.
- 8 am – 10 am
Amendment & Response Exercise (MPEP 700)
- 11 am
Claim Drafting Exercise II
- LUNCH
- 1 pm
Evening Tutorial
Homework #3 and Claim Drafting Methods
- 2 pm – 5 pm
Tutorial and Review of Morning Lectures
DAY 7 – MAY 25
- This session begins a wrap-up of the remaining chapters in the MPEP and Exam-Focus Study Guide. We conclude with a practice exam designed to enhance your pacing skills and use of the MPEP.
- 8 am
Restriction and Double Patenting (MPEP 800)
- 9 am
Appeal and Issue (MPEP 1200 and 1300)
- 10 am
Correction of Patents, Design Patents, Plant Patents (MPEP 1400 through 1600)
- 11 am
Mini-Exam V
- LUNCH
- 1 pm
Lunch Exercise #4
- 2 pm
Review Mini-Exam V and Lunch Exercise #4
- 3 pm – 5 pm
Tutorial and Review of Morning Lectures
DAY 8 - MAY 26
This section covers the PCT practice questions and the heavily tested Chapter 2100. These two Exam sections are the source of up to 25% of the Exam questions and are emphasized accordingly with extensive use of past Exams to illustrate points in the Exam-Focus Study Guide.
- 8 am
PCT (MPEP 1800)
- 9 am – 11 am
Patentability (MPEP 2100)
- 11 am
MPEP Chapter 2100 Practice Exam
- Homework
- LUNCH
- 1 pm – 5 pm
Tutorial and Review of Morning Lecture
DAY 9 – MAY 27
Begin the final session by reviewing the Chapter 2100 practice exam and by converting that exam into a highly useful supplement to the Exam-Focus Study Guide. The last tested topics of the MPEP - Reexamination and Citation of Prior Art - are covered, followed by a series of MPEP chapter reviews and drills and an introduction to the post-course Exam-Focus study materials.
- 8 am – 10 am
Review Chapter 2100 Practice Exam
- 10 am
Citation of Prior Art (MPEP 2200)
- 11 am
Post-Course Program and Drills
- LUNCH
- 1 pm – 5 pm
Tutorial and Review of Morning Lectures
DAY 10 – MAY 28
- 8 am – 12 am
3-Hour Mock Final
The 3-hour final mock exam helps you assess the progress you’ve made during the 5-day course. You’ll finish the course confident of what remaining preparations you should make for the Exam and what your particular focus should be. A review of this final exam is provided on-site for everyone who takes it.
- LUNCH
- 1 pm – 5 pm
Review Mock Final