Patent Office Picks Site In Denver

The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office’s new regional office in Colorado will be located in the Byron G. Rogers Federal Building in Denver’s central business district. The Denver office is expected to open by 2014 and will have about 130 workers initially, with employment projected to grow to about 600 within five years. The total economic benefit to the Denver area is estimated to be $439 million over the first five years. Federal officials announced in July that metro Denver would be the site of one of four new patent offices across the nation. The first satellite office opened in Detroit on July 13. Other offices will be in the Dallas-Fort Worth and Silicon Valley, Calif., areas. The agency is expanding beyond its headquarters in Alexandria, Va., as part of an effort to attract more patent examiners and administrative law judges. “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 [intellectual property] system, promote innovation, and create jobs in the Denver region and throughout the Mountain West,” PTO Director David J. Kappos says.