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TAPRE Course is a patent bar review course produced and sold by Avery Educate LLC.  "TAPRE" is an acronym which stands for "The Avery Patent Registration Exam."  The patent bar, or patent agent's exam, is formally called "the patent registration exam."

Since June 2008, TAPRE Course has helped many students to prepare for and pass the patent bar. Courses are manufactured at and ship from Dollar Bill Copying in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Courses can be picked up in person at Dollar Bill Copying. Simply order a course at taprecourse.com and in the special-instructions box indicate you want to pick the course up in person. We will email you when your course is ready to be picked up (generally two business days).

If you have questions about TAPRE Course, contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  Depending on email volume, we generally respond within two business days.

About the Course Creator

Dirk AveryDirk Avery, now a patent attorney, took PLI's patent bar course.  The course was then $2,500.  He thought that because it was the most expensive course, it would also be the best. His firm was picking up the tab so why not get the expensive course -- the course that others at his firm had used before?  Unfortunately, he found out why not.  The course dragged on for useless hour after useless hour.  He only had two weeks to study.  What started as a cautious approach to patent bar preparation, almost ended tragically.  Part way through the course, Dirk realized that listening to lectures was easy but a very ineffective way to get ready to pass a very difficult exam.  He needed to apply patent principles to exam questions, memorize important information, and get familiar with the MPEP.  Dirk switched gears.  He used flash cards created by a friend, took practice exams instead of listening to lectures, and made a detailed study of the MPEP.  Thankfully, he changed his approach in time and passed on the first try.

After passing, Dirk's experience as a corporate instructor to Fortune 500 companies kicked in.  Large companies demand efficient learning solutions.  He knew he could create a course that would help fellow patent bar-takers to get ready for the patent bar with far fewer study hours.  Much of the time he had spent with the PLI course covered topics that were almost never tested.  Why waste that time?  Why listen to a lecturer drone on for hours when the real preparation required active, hands-on interaction with the material?  Dirk undertook a careful and painstaking analysis of past exams and the MPEP.  He began creating a course in which all the materials were carefully focused on efficient exam preparation.

The result was the creation of TAPRE Course -- a reinvention of patent bar preparation.  TAPRE Course decreases study time and increases preparedness by emphasizing tested topics, de-emphasizing rarely tested topics, and approaching the material intuitively and logically. TAPRE Course takes an active approach to learning that helps students to gain the vital skills and accuracy they will need on the exam.

Background

Dirk graduated cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School where his study focused on intellectual property, patent law and copyright. He is now a patent attorney and has practiced for premier firms, including Fish & Richardson, in Michigan and California.

Oracle logoBefore law school, Dirk enjoyed a successful software career. He worked as a Senior Principal Consultant for Oracle Corporation, consulting with large companies and the federal government.  He led development efforts, employed Sun, Oracle and Microsoft technologies, and invented a database technology. Just prior to law school, Dirk helped to gather, prepare and analyze data presented to the President of the United States regarding the closure and realignment of defense installations throughout the United States.  His efforts earned him a Certificate of Appreciation from the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense.

Prior to working for Oracle, Dirk was a corporate instructor for companies including JP Morgan, IBM and Compuware.  He helped to retool employees in the U.S. and Europe for proficiency in modern technologies. Dirk has also served as Chief Technology Officer for a startup company and developed Internet software solutions for companies including Audi, Volkswagen, and Netopia.