The America Invents Act (“Patent Reform”) that President Obama signed into law in September will first impact the Exam “on or about” January 31, 2012.
But don’t panic! The changes they’ll start testing in January are relatively small compared to the tidal wave of changes that will come later. And we’ll
have a written supplement covering this first wave of new material available well before it’s tested, including practice questions, with a new lecture
online shortly thereafter.
The big changes coming starting in fall or winter of 2012/2013 are what you really SHOULD be worrying about. If you don’t pass the Exam by the end of the
coming summer, you’ll be in serious danger of having to learn almost twice as much information as currently, plus a dizzying array of effective dates
for the various new provisions.
And that’s true for probably at least two years after: They will be testing BOTH sets of rules (the “old” rules that still apply to applications already
in process, and the new rules that apply to applications filed after the effective date of the various provisions). So, don’t worry that any studying you
do now will go to waste. They’ll be testing all of this for the foreseeable future. And it will continue to be relevant in practice.
We’ll of course provide our takers all of the necessary supplemental materials, questions and lectures as they add to the material tested on the Exam.
Don’t worry about that. That’s part of our commitment to you, our takers, to help you pass the Exam as painlessly as possible.