Notice Regarding Examination For Registration
                         On Wednesday, August 27, 1997


   The Examination for Registration to practice in patent cases before the
Patent and Trademark Office given on August 27, 1997, will test claim
drafting and/or responses to Office actions through multiple choice and
true/false questions. This portion of the registration examination, also
called "the afternoon section," will be worth 100 points and will be
"open book."

   In recent years, the Office has tested claim drafting through written
claims. However, many individuals have raised concerns about the length
of time it takes to grade increasing numbers of examination papers, the
decreased number of examinations to one per year, and the processing
time for a disciplinary complaint. The objective format will allow us to
more quickly notify individuals of their grade on the registration
examination, process regrades and appeals on grading more quickly, and
allow the Office of Enrollment and Discipline to decrease the pendancy
of disciplinary matters despite the constraints on resources for the
work of the Patent and Trademark Office. This will also afford the
Office the opportunity for a reconsideration of the determination to
give only one examination a year after the August 1998 registration
examination.

   As previously indicated in the General Requirements bulletin, the
morning section will consist of 50 multiple choice questions worth two
points each. This section will also be "open book."

   For further information on the registration examination, please contact
the Office of Enrollment and Discipline by writing to the following
address: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Box OED, Washington, D.C.
20231.

July 1, 1997                                                KAREN L. BOVARD
                                      Director of Enrollment and Discipline