Patent Agent wanting to relocate ...

Just got here myself so I don't hav any leasmfor you yet. But I'll be attending an NSF EPSCoR conference on STT in a couple of weeks and may learn something about who'smactive down here. (I just moved to STX from Jamieson Ave. In Alexandria and did lots of high yeh patent work. There might be some things we could collaborate on.

Is lying on a sunny beach, with a beer in hand, and listening to the waves patentable?

I may be wrong, but I can't imagine there would be enough business for a patent attorney to make a living on any of the islands.

The only thing I could come up with is hanging out in the Cost-U-Less parking lot and offering to represent all the pirate DVD and CD sellers there!;) Oh, I guess someone would need to arrest them first...

Monmil, Do you have a Plan B?

Wow! I lived in DC/MD/VA for several years. I started off as a patent examiner. Colaboration sounds great! Thanks for your response and please keep me posted. 🙂

@ Teri
I wish!

@ Linda,
You may be right. I also have experience as a math teacher, but patents is my favorite. Once I come and hang out in March, I may be compelled to dust off the old lesson plans, even though VI teachers are the lowest paid of all US teachers.... 🙁

@Edward,
My pan B would be a teaching position. However, due to the low pay versus high cost of living, I may need a plan C. lol!

@ East Ender
What?!?! no Redbox? lol

Keep in mind that there is internet service here. It may be slow or intermittant at times. But patent agent work requires only some real-time conversation and most of the work can be done without the client and whenever the net is up. I've spent many a dollar on patent agent work by people I never met face to face and worked with exclusively by phone/fax/net. If you have some good search tools (or even if you don't but are really good with the PTO public tools and google/medline/etc.) you can do very well.

As for the dearth of patent needs here in the islands, that presumes two things:
1) the invention and inventor have to be here (not true, see above) and
2) there is nobody here smart enough to invent stuff (not true -- just not necessarily an historically popular local enterprise.)

We have a wealth of natural resources (rain, seawater, wind, open spaces) and a great need for affordable energy, potable water, and cheap transportation. People with inventive minds could take advantage of these needs and resources could create highly marketable technologies if they had a mind to do so. Consider not just the islands but all the places on the globe with similar characteristics (low average incomes, water shortages, high-cost energy, etc.) And it doesn't have to be altogether new technologies, improvements to wind/solar/desal, etc. could be highly marketable.

Stay in touch!

LOL monmil! I had to Google "Redbox" so it is safe to say we don't have it. We DO have Netflix, although some are protesting the new rates because we aren't allowed to get movies over the internet through them (see separate thread on this.) But there is a huge business here in pirated DVDs and CDs. I always wonder why no one has gone after the sellers as they are very open about it.

As to teaching math, I believe you will find some opportunities at the private schools.

@ rhstoo - funny you should mention this...I got a call today about contractural work with a firm in Florida. in light of what you just said, that may be a viable option...

Also, green innovation is really hot at hte PTO right now, so keep an eye out for those green innovations...plus it's always good to find better more efficient use of energy.

@Edward - thanks for the tip on the private schools

@ East Ender - lol! Many folks in the states don't know Redbox either...smile