The patent bar exam is a difficult exam that lawyers must pass to practice patent law. The US has a specific patent bar exam, while the UK has a Chartered Patent Lawyer Qualification. To practice patent law in the EU, lawyers must meet each country’s examination requirements or qualify as a European patent lawyer. Patent law is technically complex and requires knowledge of both law and science.
The phrase “patent bar exam” usually refers to an exam that lawyers or attorneys must pass in order to practice at a country’s patent-granting office. All countries have specific requirements for the practice of patent law. Patent law around the world is a narrow and complex area, which almost always requires passing a difficult exam. The United States is one of the only jurisdictions that requires an exam specifically called a patent bar exam, but the term has come to generally describe a country’s patent law exam, regardless of the specific title.
Patent attorneys are attorneys responsible for preparing patent applications on behalf of clients, suing patents before the national patent agency, and contesting patents for infringing. The US Patent Bar Exam is an exam administered by the US Patent and Trademark Office. If an individual passes the patent bar exam before passing the state bar, he or she is considered a patent agent rather than a patent attorney. Due to the breadth of technical knowledge required, the patent bar is generally regarded as one of the most difficult exams to pass in the United States. In 2010, it had a failure rate of approximately 60%. There is no limit to how many times a person can sit for the exam.
In the UK, the system is similar. UK-based lawyers must pass a “Chartered Patent Lawyer Qualification”. Lawyers in the UK can enter patent practice without first entering general practice. Once armed with a law degree, law students can immediately apply for patent qualification. The chartered exam is usually just as challenging as its US counterpart.
Passing the patent qualification will allow British lawyers to practice patent law in Great Britain, but additional examinations are needed to practice patent law in the greater European Union. There is no unified EU patent law and each EU country has its own set of rules and laws for the practice of patents. To practice patent law generally in the EU, lawyers have two options: they can meet the examination requirements of each country they wish to practice in, or they can try to qualify as a European patent lawyer. To become a European patent lawyer, a lawyer must first qualify as a patent lawyer in an EU member country, and then must apply for European patent lawyer qualification, a series of four additional exams.
Part of the reason why the patent practice is so unique is that, of all areas of law, it is the most technically complex. Patent applications and lawsuits regularly involve disputes over highly specific science and engineering issues. Successful patent practice requires not only knowledge of the law, but also the ability to apply facts to that law to ensure that only legitimate and sufficiently unique inventions receive national patent protection. Patents comprise only a small sector of intellectual property law. Failure to pass a patent bar exam in no way limits an attorney’s ability to practice in related areas such as trademark or copyright law – neither of which usually require special exams.
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