PTO To Open Three More Field Offices

The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) plans to open three more satellite offices in addition to the regional office that is scheduled to begin operating in Detroit on July 13. The new offices will be located in Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver, and California’s Silicon Valley. PTO says it plans to begin site procurement activity and establish a timeline for the three locations in the coming months. “By expanding our operation outside the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area for the first time in our agency’s 200-plus-year history, we are taking unprecedented steps to recruit a diverse range of talented technical experts, creating new opportunities across the American workforce,” PTO Director David J. Kappos says. PTO selected the locations after reviewing more than 600 comments from stakeholders regarding potential cities and regions for future satellite offices. A federal patent reform law enacted last September requires PTO to open at least three satellite offices around the country by 2014.