Wysebridge students pass at 81% vs the 47% USPTO average (2012–2025).Start your 5-day free trial →

Patent Bar prep · Patent law courses · Career data · Since 2012

Where patent careers are built.

Pass the Patent Bar, learn patent law free, and keep growing as a practitioner — on one platform, with one account.

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4.9 on Google6,000+ learners since 2012200+ partner institutions

Patent Bar prep · updated for the September 23, 2026 exam

Pass the Patent Bar on your first attempt.

MPEP-focused lessons, 3,000+ questions, a Prometric-style simulator and an AI tutor in one study system.

first-attempt pass rate, 2012–2025
81%
USPTO average, same period
47%
practice questions
3,000+
Scene 1 of 4: Read the MPEP.
MPEP § 2143 · Ch. 2100High-yield chapter
Examples of basic requirements of a prima facie case of obviousness

The key to supporting any rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103 is the clear articulation of the reason(s) why the claimed invention would have been obvious. The Supreme Court in KSR noted that the analysis supporting a rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103 should be made explicit.

Your note: KSR rationales A–G — drill these with flashcards before Friday.
→ Related: § 2141→ 14 practice questions→ 9 flashcards
6,000+
Students
individuals have used Wysebridge
81%
First-Attempt Pass Rate
2012–2025 average, vs. 47% USPTO overall pass rate over the same period
Since 2012
Over a Decade
of patent bar prep
200+
Partner Institutions
universities & law firms trust Wysebridge
Trusted by professionals at
  • Nike
  • Harvard Law School
  • HP
  • Armstrong Teasdale
  • Emerson
  • AbbVie
  • Qualcomm
  • 3M
  • Boeing
  • Google
  • Intel
  • Pfizer
  • ExxonMobil
  • Cisco

One platform

Everything a patent professional needs, in one place.

Wysebridge is one account for the whole patent career: learn the law and the profession free, pass the USPTO Patent Bar, earn IP law certificates, claim your practitioner profile, find your next role, and see where the profession is moving.

Patent professionals usually piece their careers together from a dozen places: one site for career advice, another for the MPEP, a review course for the exam, CLE vendors afterwards, a directory listing they never claimed, and job boards that don't know what a registration number is. Wysebridge puts those in one place and connects them, so what you do at each stage carries into the next — your eligibility shapes your study plan, passing links your registration, and your courses and certificates show on your profile.

01Learn · Explore & learn

Find out if patent law fits, before you spend a dollar.

What patent agents, attorneys and examiners actually do, what they earn, and free foundations in patent law. Then check whether your degree lets you sit for the Patent Bar.

Everything in Learn

Is a patent career right for you?

See the whole field before you choose a path.

Patent work rewards a technical mind. Agents draft and prosecute applications, attorneys add litigation and opinion work, and examiners decide what the USPTO grants. Each path has its own training, pay and pace.

Our career and salary guides cover all of them, along with how scientists and engineers make the move from the lab, so you can choose with the full picture.

Free foundations

Learn patent law free, from the source.

Start with free foundations in patent law, then read the source itself: the complete MPEP, 35 U.S.C., 37 C.F.R. and the PCT, searchable, with every cross-reference linked to the section it cites.

When you're ready, the eligibility check tells you whether your degree lets you sit for the Patent Bar under Category A, B or C, and the application guide takes you through the USPTO's process step by step.

Answers before you start

How do you become a patent agent?

A patent agent is a scientist or engineer registered by the USPTO to prepare and prosecute patent applications. You need a qualifying technical background (USPTO Category A, B or C), an application to the Office of Enrollment and Discipline, and a passing score on the USPTO registration exam — the Patent Bar. No law degree is required. Wysebridge walks you through each step free, from the eligibility check to the application.

How to apply to the USPTO

Patent agent or patent attorney: what is the difference?

Both are registered to practise before the USPTO, and both pass the same Patent Bar. A patent attorney is also a licensed lawyer, so they can litigate, give infringement and validity opinions, and handle licensing disputes; a patent agent focuses on preparing and prosecuting applications. Many agents start at a firm and later go to law school while working.

Patent agent vs patent attorney

Where can I read the MPEP free?

Right here. Wysebridge publishes the complete Manual of Patent Examining Procedure — every chapter and section, plus 35 U.S.C., 37 C.F.R., the Patent Cooperation Treaty and the Paris Convention — free to read, with full-text search and every cross-reference linked to the section it cites.

Open the MPEP

02Patent Bar · Qualify & pass

Qualify, prepare, and pass the Patent Bar.

The USPTO registration exam is the gate to practice, and where Wysebridge began in 2012. Our students pass on their first attempt at 81%, more than 30 points above the USPTO average of 47%.

Everything in Patent Bar

Answers before the exam

What is the Patent Bar?

The USPTO registration examination. Scientists and engineers with a qualifying degree sit it to register as patent agents; lawyers sit it to become patent attorneys. It is a multiple-choice exam, open book on the MPEP, taken at a Prometric test center.

About the exam

Do I qualify to sit the exam?

Most candidates qualify through their degree under USPTO Category A, B or C. The free eligibility check reads your degree against the USPTO's list and tells you which category applies before you apply to the Office of Enrollment and Discipline.

Check your eligibility

How does Wysebridge prepare you to pass?

Lessons, practice and timed exams built on the MPEP, with an AI tutor and a Prometric-style simulator. Our students pass on their first attempt at 81%, and we publish the record every year since 2012.

Patent Bar prep

03Courses · Keep learning

Passed? Keep building your practice.

Continuing courses for practitioners and law-firm teams: trademark, copyright and trade secret law, what generative AI changes for IP, and a hands-on drafting and prosecution practicum. All three are included with Wysebridge ONE, each with a certificate program.

Compare the courses

U.S. IP Law Course & Certificate

Advise on more than patents.

Clients rarely bring only patent questions. Portfolio strategy, licensing, product launches and in-house work all call for trademark, copyright and trade secret law alongside patents.

The U.S. IP Law course covers all four for working professionals, chapter by chapter with practice quizzes. Finish the certificate track and the certificate appears on your practitioner profile.

IP Law in the Age of AI · for firms and teams

Get your team ready for what AI changes in IP.

Generative AI raises questions the statutes never anticipated: inventorship without a human inventor, ownership of machine output, and fair use in training data. This course works through the USPTO and Copyright Office guidance and the cases shaping the answers.

Both IP law courses are included with Wysebridge ONE, and law firms and in-house teams can train practitioners together.

Answers for practitioners

Do patent professionals need trademark, copyright and trade secret law?

Clients rarely bring only patent questions. Portfolio strategy, freedom to operate, licensing, product launches and in-house roles all call for working knowledge of trademarks, copyright and trade secrets alongside patents. The U.S. IP Law course covers all four for practitioners, scientists and in-house teams.

U.S. IP Law course

How does generative AI change IP law?

AI raises questions the statutes never anticipated: whether an AI-assisted invention has a human inventor, who owns AI-generated works, and when training on copyrighted material is fair use. IP Law in the Age of AI works through the USPTO and Copyright Office guidance and the cases shaping the answers.

IP Law in the Age of AI

What is the Wysebridge Professional Certificate?

A professional credential Wysebridge issues when you complete a course's certificate track. It is recorded on your Wysebridge account and shown on your practitioner profile. It is not an academic degree, CLE credit or bar qualification.

Compare the courses

04Professionals · Get on the record

Your registration, your record, your next role.

Every USPTO-registered patent agent and attorney has a Wysebridge profile. Claim yours, show verified credentials, see who practises where, and find patent roles that fit your technical background.

Explore Professionals

Practitioner profiles

Every registered practitioner, on the record.

Every patent agent and attorney on the USPTO roster has a Wysebridge profile. Claim yours with your registration number, then add your practice areas, technical background and education.

Your Wysebridge courses and certificates show as verified rather than self-reported. Phone numbers and street addresses are never shown.

Directory and map

See who practises where.

Search registered practitioners by name, registration number, firm, technology and location, and browse the profession firm by firm and city by city.

It's built for clients looking for counsel, practitioners looking for colleagues, and firms looking for talent.

Patent jobs

Roles that know what a registration number is.

Patent agent, attorney, examiner and technical specialist roles from law firms, companies and government, refreshed daily and matched to your registration, technical field and experience.

Employers post roles directly and reach registered practitioners.

Answers for registered practitioners

How do I find a registered patent attorney or patent agent?

Every practitioner on the USPTO roster has a Wysebridge profile. Search by name, registration number, technology, firm or location, and see registration type and status, firm and city. Wysebridge never shows phone numbers or street addresses.

Search practitioners

How do I claim my practitioner profile?

Sign in to your Wysebridge account and verify your USPTO registration number. Once claimed, the profile is yours to complete: practice areas, technical background, education, and the Wysebridge courses and certificates you have finished, shown as verified.

Claim your profile

Where are patent agent and patent attorney jobs listed?

Wysebridge lists patent roles from law firms, companies and government, and matches them to your registration, technical field and experience. Employers post roles and reach registered practitioners directly.

Patent jobs

05Intelligence · See the profession

The patent profession, and its patents, in data.

Which firms are growing, how talent moves and where practitioners work, built on public USPTO records, with patent portfolio exploration and management on the way. For firms, recruiters, schools and researchers.

Explore Intelligence

Firms and talent

Watch talent move across the profession.

We track the USPTO practitioner roster over time to show which firms are adding registered practitioners, which are shrinking, and where people go when they move.

Rankings, state-by-state geography and monthly new registrants are public. A dashboard seat adds the full talent flow and any firm's history.

Patent portfoliosIn development

Explore and manage entire patent portfolios.

Next, Intelligence extends from people to patents: any company's portfolio by technology, status and the firms that prosecute it, connected to the practitioners behind each filing.

You'll also be able to track and manage your own portfolio in the same place.

Answers from the data

How many registered patent practitioners are there?

The USPTO publishes a roster of every registered patent attorney and agent. Wysebridge tracks it over time, so you can see how many practitioners are active, where they work, which technologies they cover, and how the profession has grown.

Explore the data

Which patent law firms are growing?

Firm rankings count the registered practitioners at each firm over time, so you can see which firms are adding practitioners, which are shrinking, and where practitioners go when they move.

Firm rankings

Where does Wysebridge's data come from?

Public USPTO records: the practitioner roster and its history, Patent Bar statistics from USPTO annual reports, and Wysebridge's own exam results since 2012. Personal contact details such as phone numbers and street addresses are never published.

USPTO annual report analysis

One account, the whole career

Why one account is built for patent professionals.

A patent career runs for decades and passes through very different stages: deciding whether the field fits, qualifying for and passing the Patent Bar, building a practice, changing firms, and eventually hiring others. Most tools serve one stage and forget you at the next. A single Wysebridge account keeps the whole record together.

Your eligibility result shapes your study plan. Your practice history drives your readiness score through exam day. When you pass, your account links to your USPTO registration and your practitioner profile. The courses and certificates you complete afterwards appear on that profile as verified credentials, and the profile is what matches you to roles. Your MPEP highlights and notes come with you the whole way.

Example of one Wysebridge account over time · illustrative

  • Eligibility: Category A
  • Patent Bar · passed
  • U.S. IP Law Certificate
  • Claimed practitioner profile · Reg. No. verified
  • MPEP notes & highlights
  • No starting over. Progress, notes and results carry from one stage to the next.
  • Verified, not self-reported. Your registration, courses and certificates are confirmed by Wysebridge, not typed in.
  • Found by the right people. Your profile reflects your real record, so firms and clients see what you can do.
  • One sign-in. The MPEP, the exam, courses, profile and jobs share one account and one place to manage it.
  1. 01Check eligibilityFind your USPTO category
  2. 02Study planA week-by-week plan built from your exam date
  3. 03PassReadiness analytics through exam day
  4. 04Keep advancingCourses and certificates on your record
  5. 05Claim profileMatched to your registration number
  6. 06Find workRoles matched to your profile

FAQ

Questions people ask first.

Still deciding? Ask us a question.

Wysebridge is the professional platform for patent careers. It began in 2012 as a USPTO Patent Bar review course and now covers the whole career on one account: free patent law and career learning with the full MPEP, Patent Bar prep, IP law courses with professional certificates, a profile for every registered patent practitioner, patent jobs, and data on the profession itself — firms, rankings and talent movement.

Start with the Patent Bar

Start where you are.

Create a free account to read the MPEP, check your eligibility and claim your profile, or try full Patent Bar prep free for 5 days.