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PATENT BAR PRACTICE

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© 2026 Patent Bar Prep. Patent Bar Prep is an independent study aid. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) or its Office of Enrollment and Discipline (OED). Bank questions are original; USPTO-released exam questions are shown only in separate, labelled sets. Practice questions, mock exams and study notes for the registration examination only. Nothing here is legal advice, and passing the exam is only one of the USPTO's requirements for registration. Not legal or compliance advice. Copying, scraping or reselling the questions is not allowed (see our Terms).

Study Notes

One note per topic: the must-know facts, the rules in plain English, worked examples and the traps that cost marks. The must-know list, the opening sections and the traps of every note are free; Premium unlocks the rest.

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Patent eligibility and utility (35 U.S.C. 101)

Patentability: 101, 102, 103 and 112 · 2 min

19 notes, 60 min of reading. Start here and work down the list.

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Patentability: 101, 102, 103 and 112

5 notes

Patent eligibility and utility (35 U.S.C. 101)2 min · Eligibility asks whether a claim falls in a statutory category and, if it recites a judicial exception, whether it integrates it into a practical application or adds significantly more. Utility asks whether the invention has a specific, substantial and credible use.
Novelty under the AIA (first inventor to file)4 min · AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 decides what counts as prior art for applications with any claim effectively filed on or after March 16, 2013. Work every question from the claim's effective filing date: what was public before it, what U.S. patent documents were effectively filed before it, and which 102(b) exception removes them.
Pre-AIA novelty and statutory bars3 min · Applications whose every claim has always had an effective filing date before March 16, 2013 are still examined under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102. The key split: 102(a), (e) and (g) depend on the date of invention and can be sworn behind; 102(b) and (d) depend on the U.S. filing date and cannot.
Obviousness (35 U.S.C. 103)2 min · Obviousness asks whether the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill before the effective filing date (AIA) or at the time of invention (pre-AIA). The examiner makes the prima facie case; the applicant answers with argument and Rule 132 evidence.
Written description, enablement and claims (35 U.S.C. 112)2 min · Section 112 governs what the specification must teach and how claims must be written. During examination, claims receive their broadest reasonable interpretation, and amendments cannot add new matter.

Filing, fees, benefit and priority

4 notes

Application parts, filing date and formalities2 min · Know what gets a filing date, what can come later, and who signs what. Since December 18, 2013, a utility nonprovisional needs only a specification (claims optional) and any required drawings for a filing date; designs still need a claim.
Fees, entity status, papers and deadlines2 min · Most exam errors here are date errors: compute periods from the mailing date, add any purchased extension, then move a weekend or federal holiday end date to the next business day. Separately, know how papers are dated and how entity status works.
Benefit and priority claims2 min · A benefit or priority claim gives a claim an earlier effective filing date if the earlier application supports it and the formal requirements are met: timing, copendency or the priority year, a reference in the ADS on time, and (for foreign priority) a certified copy.
Design and plant applications2 min · Designs protect the ornamental appearance of an article; plants protect asexually reproduced new varieties. Both use a single claim, and both differ from utility practice on term, publication, priority and fees.

Examination and prosecution

3 notes

Examination, Office actions and replies6 min · This area tests how prosecution moves after the first action: what a complete reply is, when an action may be final, what can still be done after final, and how periods for reply and extensions are counted. Hold onto one idea: the period for reply always runs, and only a complete, timely reply (or a paid extension) stops abandonment.
Restriction and double patenting5 min · This area tests when the Office may split an application, what a reply to a restriction requirement must contain, and how double patenting is avoided or overcome. The one idea to hold onto: restriction creates the 35 U.S.C. 121 shield for divisionals, while terminal disclaimers cure only nonstatutory double patenting.
Duty of disclosure, IDS and third-party submissions2 min · Everyone substantively involved in an application owes the Office candor until the patent issues. Information disclosure statements carry the duty out, under a three-tier timing scheme; third parties have their own routes in, through preissuance submissions and protests.

Appeals, petitions, issue and post-issuance

3 notes

Appeals, petitions and revival6 min · This area tests the route for review (appeal to the Board for rejections, petition to the Director for procedural rulings), the deadlines of an ex parte appeal, and how an abandoned application is brought back. Hold onto one idea: appeal periods count from the paper that starts them, most are not extendable under 1.136(a), and revival needs unintentional delay throughout.
Allowance, issue, reissue and correction of patents6 min · This area tests what can still be done after a notice of allowance, and which tool fixes an issued patent: a certificate of correction, a reissue or a statutory disclaimer. Hold onto one idea: anything that changes claim scope needs reissue, broadening needs it within two years, and the issue fee date closes most doors before grant.
Patent term, adjustment, extension and maintenance fees6 min · This area tests how long a utility patent lasts and what lengthens or ends it: the 20-year term, patent term adjustment for Office delay, extension for regulatory review, and maintenance fees. Hold onto one idea: term runs from the earliest non-provisional U.S. or PCT filing relied on, adjustment is Office delay minus applicant delay, and unpaid maintenance fees end the patent at 4, 8 or 12 years.

Reexamination and AIA trials

1 note

Reexamination, supplemental examination and AIA trials2 min · After grant, a patent can be revisited by ex parte reexamination (anyone, patents and publications), supplemental examination (owner only, any information) or an AIA trial at the PTAB: inter partes review, post-grant review or a derivation proceeding. Each has its own who, when, what and threshold.

PCT and international

1 note

PCT, foreign filing licenses and international designs2 min · Three systems meet here: U.S. export control of inventions (secrecy orders and foreign filing licenses), the PCT for utility applications, and the Hague Agreement for designs. Most questions are about time limits counted from the priority date.

Ethics and representation

1 note

Practitioner registration, representation and ethics2 min · The USPTO Rules of Professional Conduct (37 CFR 11.101-11.901, adopted by the 2013 final rule) follow the ABA Model Rules with patent-specific additions. Representation rules in 37 CFR 1.31-1.36 govern powers of attorney and withdrawal.

Changes after the exam's MPEP revision

1 note

Changes after the exam's MPEP revision2 min · The exam tests MPEP 9th ed., Rev. 01.2024 (Nov 2024) until OED announces new source materials. These are the patent rule changes since then that matter in practice. Know them for your clients; answer exam questions from the tested MPEP.