August 23, 2012

Press Release, 12-53

USPTO Selects Central Denver Location for Regional Satellite Office

New Office Will Spur Innovation and Job Creation Throughout Region

Washington - The U.S. Department of Commerce’s United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today announced that its Denver regional satellite office will be located in the Byron G. Rogers Federal Building in Denver, Colorado. The USPTO announced plans to open a regional office in the Denver area in July, along with satellite offices in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas and Silicon Valley, California, areas as part of efforts to support innovation and creativity, help protect and foster American innovation in the global marketplace, help businesses cut through red tape, and create new economic opportunities in each of the local communities.

The USPTO worked with the General Services Administration (GSA) to select a location in the Denver region that is centrally located, affordable, and well suited to the agency’s needs. The building will be leased at a rate well below market price, and the USPTO will partner with GSA to construct its space in the building as quickly as possible.

“Denver is alive with innovation, with a highly educated workforce centered in a region populated with universities and R&D institutions,” said Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO David Kappos. “The location of the new Denver satellite office will enable us to attract a top-notch team of patent examiners and judges to improve our IP system, promote innovation, and create jobs in the Denver region and throughout the Mountain West.”

The Denver satellite office will function as a hub of innovation and creativity, allowing the USPTO to serve regional entrepreneurs better than ever by getting them the patents they need so that they can attract capital, put their business plans into action, and help create more good-paying jobs.

Patents are a significant factor in private sector job creation. In fact, the U.S. Commerce Department issued a recent report finding that IP-intensive industries are the source – directly or indirectly – of 40 million jobs, contributing $5.06 trillion to the U.S. economy in 2010.

The USPTO’s first satellite office in Detroit, Michigan, opened on July 13. The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act of 2011 (AIA), signed into law by President Obama in September, requires the USPTO to establish regional satellite locations by September 2014 as part of a larger effort to modernize the U.S. patent system.

The Denver office in the Byron G. Rogers Building, located within the Central Business District and close to public transportation, will be a place for small businesses and entrepreneurs to learn how to navigate the patent process, meet with examiners, and access USPTO’s comprehensive search databases. The office will also create jobs and boost the local economy. It will be modeled after the USPTO’s first satellite office in Detroit, Michigan, which opened in July and is on pace to have more than 100 patent examiners and 20 administrative patent judges on board by the end of its first year of operation.

The USPTO worked with the GSA to identify a location that would have a strong economic impact on the region, be the best fit for the community, be the most cost-effective, and be a great place to work for employees, while helping the USPTO fulfill its core mission. The goal was to find space comparable in size and function to the Detroit satellite office. The Byron G. Rogers Building was not only the most affordable, but met all federal regulations for leasing space, while providing the agency flexibility on a move-in date. GSA is in the process of renovating the historic facility, and anticipates completing the renovation next summer.

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