We spent today in Detroit, MI. Most of the day was spent learning about the new Detroit regional USPTO. They only do patent work there, and concentrate heavily in the mechanical and electrical engineering fields. They’ve hired and trained around 70 new patent examiners since they opened, and are aiming to have about 100 new examiners in their first year of operations.
The folks at the PTO were very gracious hosts. We learned about the mission of the PTO and of the Detroit office, had lunch with some current examiners, learned alot more about the job of an examiner, and also got to share a bit about the MSPL.
After a tour of the office, we traveled to Dickinson Wright to mingle with some of the folks we know through our adjunct faculty member Hal Milton. Kim Slaven, a ND alumna, is a patent associate in the Troy, MI office of Dickinson Wright, and arranged for the MSPL students to meet some of their patent interns (trainee patent prosecutors). We spent some time in their 40th floor office, which has a great view of the GM building. Unfortunately it was rainy today, so the photo isn’t great, but you can still get the idea of how amazing the view is (Canada is in the background!).