Patent bar review · San Francisco
Best Patent Bar Review Programs in San Francisco, California (2026)
San Francisco's patent market combines software and internet companies with the biotech cluster of South San Francisco and the Peninsula. Genentech and Gilead Sciences are among the largest local employers of registered practitioners, alongside the San Francisco offices of firms such as Morrison & Foerster and Kilpatrick Townsend. The metro counted here includes Oakland, Berkeley, San Mateo, Foster City and Redwood City.
- 2,078
- Registered patent practitioners
- USPTO roster, September 2026
- #7
- Among US metros
- 4% of US practitioners
- 651
- Patent agents
- 31% of local practitioners
- 56
- Newly registered
- First on the roster in the past 12 months
Local IP market
The San Francisco patent market
2,078 USPTO-registered practitioners list an address in the San Francisco area on the September 2026 roster: 1,403 patent attorneys and 651 patent agents, plus 24 with limited recognition or a design-practitioner registration. That is 27% more than in September 2017, when the roster listed 1,641, and up from 990 on the first roster in our history (May 2006). 56 people listed here appeared on the roster for the first time in the past 12 months.
Registered practitioners in the San Francisco area, 2017–2026
Each column is the September roster of that year.
| Roster | Registered practitioners |
|---|---|
| Sep 2017 | 1,641 |
| Sep 2018 | 1,697 |
| Sep 2019 | 1,743 |
| Sep 2020 | 1,779 |
| Sep 2021 | 1,825 |
| Sep 2022 | 1,880 |
| Sep 2023 | 1,941 |
| Sep 2024 | 2,010 |
| Sep 2025 | 2,038 |
| Sep 2026 | 2,078 |
Where they are
Cities in the metro with the most registered practitioners.
- San Francisco, CA845
- Redwood City, CA167
- South San Francisco, CA132
- Oakland, CA106
- Berkeley, CA68
- San Mateo, CA65
Who employs them
Largest employers of registered practitioners in San Francisco
Law firms and companies as named on the USPTO roster, counted by the registered patent attorneys and agents who list them at a San Francisco-area address. Company names are in-house patent teams.
| Firm or company | Registered here |
|---|---|
| Genentech, Inc | 51 |
| Morrison & Foerster LLP | 42 |
| Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP | 41 |
| Weaver Austin Villeneuve & Sampson LLP | 31 |
| Gilead Sciences, iNC. | 24 |
| Bozicevic, Field & Francis LLP | 23 |
Patent bar and careers
Preparing for the patent bar in San Francisco
Biotech employers on the Peninsula hire scientists into patent roles; a life-sciences degree usually qualifies under Category A.
Software engineers should check eligibility before applying: computer science qualifies under Category A only with the accreditation or coursework the USPTO's bulletin sets out.
Bay Area prosecution turns on §§ 101, 102, 103 and 112 for both software and biotech claims. Those sections are where your study time pays back most.
Start with whether your degree qualifies, then pick a study plan that fits your schedule. The exam is the same everywhere: a computer-based test at a Prometric test center.
Compare programs
Patent bar review courses for San Francisco candidates
Our pick for most engineers and scientists in San Francisco is Wysebridge Patent Bar Review: the deepest question bank, adaptive study and an AI tutor grounded in the MPEP. PLI suits licensed attorneys who need CLE credits or want live lectures; PatBar works as a mobile supplement to a primary course. The full method is on our patent bar review comparison.
| Feature | Wysebridge | PLI | PatBar |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $189/mo or $594 One-Pay; everything with Wysebridge ONE, $697 | ~$1,495–$2,295 | ~$495–$500+, or monthly |
| Format | Online self-paced, 82 lessons across 10 study modules | Live online workshops + comprehensive self-study materials | App-based, gamified question practice |
| Question bank | 3,000+ questions (899 official USPTO exam questions + 419 USPTO-derived + 2,240 Wysebridge-authored post-AIA) | — | — |
| Adaptive learning | Yes | No | No |
| AI tutor | Yes | No | No |
| Exam simulator | Yes | Yes | No |
| Live instruction | No | Yes | No |
| CLE credits | No | Yes | No |
Wysebridge ONE
What Wysebridge ONE adds that no prep course does
A prep course ends when you pass. ONE includes full Patent Bar prep, extended until you pass, and the rest of a patent career with it, for $697 in one payment ($1,417 bought separately).
- Both IP law coursesU.S. IP Law and IP Law in the Age of AI, yours to keep
- Practicum and Practice LabThe 16-module course to keep; the lab's cases and office actions renew with ONE
- The MPEPUnlimited highlights and notes, yours to keep
- Your practitioner profileA year of Professional Plus: be found, with analytics
- IntelligenceA year of advanced Intelligence: the full talent flow since 2006
- Certificates at member prices$97 each, $147 for both
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How we count. Registered practitioners with a US address on the USPTO roster for September 2026. Each city on the roster is placed at the median location of the practitioners listed there and counted in the nearest of our metro centers within 60 km; city and state only. Firms are counted under the name each practitioner lists.
On the USPTO roster for September 2026, 2,078 registered patent practitioners list an address in the San Francisco area: 1,403 patent attorneys and 651 patent agents, plus 24 with limited recognition or a design-practitioner registration. That is 4% of the 52,220 practitioners with a US address, and ranks the metro #7 in the country.
For many, yes. The Bay Area's tech companies and its biotech cluster both employ registered patent agents, and a registration number lets you prosecute applications rather than only support them. Confirm your degree qualifies first, then plan for a few months of focused study around your job.
No. The USPTO registration exam is open to anyone with a qualifying technical degree. Most engineering and hard-science degrees qualify under Category A of the USPTO General Requirements Bulletin. Passing earns you the right to represent inventors before the USPTO as a patent agent, with or without a JD.
We recommend about 150 hours of study; Wysebridge students study an average of 87 hours, and you can build a customizable study plan around your exam date. Question volume matters most: work through as much of a 3,000+-question bank as you can, weighted toward MPEP Chapter 2100.
The best program is the one that gets you passing.
Try Wysebridge free for 5 days. See the platform and decide for yourself; you're not billed until day 5.