You generally need about 150-200 hours of study to be able to pass the patent bar. The reason people are suggesting reading the MPEP is because a lot of questions will be from it, word for word. They will be so familiar to you that even if you do not know the answer you would know where to find it in the MPEP. Ch 2100 is important if you have not taken any patent law courses, although patent law comprises about only 10% of the actual questions. Ch 600/700 are also very important. There will be 1/3 of the questions from 700 alone. Ch 1800 gains momentum these days since PCT is a hot topic.
One guy reported it took him one and a half years to read the MPEP completely. If you do not have time, just skim these chapters. Actual reading of the MPEP will be so frustrating and unproductive. For one thing, the exam MPEP is already outdated. Do the preparation in 3 hour incremental to build up the stamina for the exam. One important thing is to do the released questions, from 1997 to 2003, at least 3 times or get to 90% before you take the exam, especially the question after 2000. You can alwasy reschedule the exam with prometrics after all. You still have time to take the exam before Congress changes the patent law this summer, most likely. Although patent bar can be done DIY, I would highly recommend to take a commercial course such as PLI or barbri. I am not affiliated with any of them but PLI does have a 100% passing rate with a 85% passing rate first time around. You do have to pay over $2000 but such money is well spent if you do not have to spend another 3 months to prepare for a retest. There are other cheaper programs but be wary of them. You get what you pay for.
Assignment. Think patent just like a mortgage for a house. You do not have to record with the PTO but if you do, you provide a notice to subsequent bona fide purchasers a notice of such assignment. You have 90 days to record the assignment from its filing. The "prior to" langugage is aimed for a BFP coming within 3 months.
It is a common practice that an employer will ask a new hire to sign a release such that any invention within the scope of your employment will be the property of the employer. You do not have to sign but you would not get the job. Generally speaking, if you use the employer facility and the invention is related to your work then the employer owns the patent. You will be the inventor and get some kind of reward from the employer, if at all. You can also order a patent plague with your name printed on it. When you file a patent, the employer would ask to sign an assignment form again, even if you signed the contract when you were hired.
