As reported in today’s Detroit Free Press, the Patent Office has chosen Detroit for its first satellite office.

Unlike many federal government agencies, the Patent Office has its entire operation in a central location — Alexandria, Virginia.

The impact from opening satellite offices is to make it easier for applicants who reside nearby to have an in-person interview more easily (without having to travel to Alexandria).  It also can be easier to deal with an examiner if both the examiner and the applicant reside in the same time zone.

For the Patent Office, having satellite offices will make it easier to recruit examiners from all across the country.  At present, the Patent Office has had considerable difficulty recruiting from the West Coast.  Most examiners are originally from the East Coast, most heavily from the Northeast Corridor.  According to reports, the Patent Office will be opening two more satellite offices in the next few years… Hopefully, they will choose Phoenix … which is quite attractive for a number of reasons, including low cost of living and nice weather (except when it is 110 degrees, of course).

About 100 new examiners will be located to the new Detroit office, and the technology examined will focus on automotive and other industries concentrated in the area.