USPTO Satellite Offices Bring Resources to Innovators
Blog by Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO Michelle K. Lee
Three years ago, we started expanding USPTO operations across the country to Dallas, Denver, Detroit, and Silicon Valley, bringing resources to the doorsteps of innovators. These satellite offices support our core mission of fostering American innovation and competitiveness by offering services to entrepreneurs, inventors, and small businesses, while effectively engaging communities and local industries.
Our satellite offices allow the USPTO to recruit a diverse range of talented technical experts and build the workforce necessary to reduce the current patent backlog, ensure pending applications are examined in a timely manner, and speed up the overall examination process. These operational improvements in turn allow businesses to move their groundbreaking innovations to market faster, provide incentive for investment in new technologies, and directly contribute to the creation of new jobs that grow and sustain our economy.
Since my last blog update regarding our satellite offices, there have been significant developments. I am excited to welcome Dr. Christal Sheppard to our USPTO team as the new regional director for the Elijah J. McCoy satellite office in Detroit. Christal previously served as chief counsel on patents and trademarks for the House Judiciary Committee, and since leaving Capitol Hill, she has been an assistant professor at the University of Nebraska College of Law and a member of the USPTO Patent Public Advisory Committee. She will use her expertise to build on the partnerships the office has already established with stakeholders, the local community, and organizations in the Detroit area.
Our Rocky Mountain Regional Office in Denver continues to reach out to independent inventors, entrepreneurs, and small businesses with events like its Saturday Seminar series that provide valuable information on intellectual property protection and the process for obtaining patents and registering trademarks.
Denver Regional Office Director Russ Slifer says, “The reception and excitement for the USPTO in Colorado has greatly exceeded my expectations. The Rocky Mountain region has a strong innovation community including universities, small and large businesses, and independent inventors. We are passionate about building collaborative relationships to provide the education and resources needed to help the innovators in the region continue to be competitive.”
Our West Coast Regional Office in Silicon Valley is engaging the community and providing services to one of the most active patent filing communities in the world. After holding our first Cybersecurity Partnership Meeting last fall in Silicon Valley, we continue to gather stakeholders’ thoughts, ideas, and insights in the cybersecurity field as well as other industry sectors across the region. We are extremely pleased that the San Jose City Council unanimously approved our final schedule and lease terms and that construction of the West Coast Regional Office is underway.
Silicon Valley Regional Office Director John Cabeca says, “There continues to be an outpouring of support across the innovation ecosystem for the USPTO to establish a permanent west coast office in the Silicon Valley and we are eager to see our permanent facility open in San Jose City Hall. The community is very engaged and I look forward to working with stakeholders, at all levels, to bring educational programs tailored to the specific needs of the region.”
For the regional director of our Texas Regional Office, we recently posted and closed a job announcement, and I look forward to updating you once a candidate has been selected. As part of our targeted outreach campaign to the unique entrepreneurial community in Texas, we are reaching out to small businesses and startups across the state. This month, I shared some our 21st century initiatives at the annual SXSW Festival in Austin, where Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker and I spoke about how the government is adapting to the rate and pace of technology–and fueling innovation–by retooling our patent system. I look forward to opening the permanent space for our offices in Dallas in the Terminal Annex Federal Building later this year after renovations and infrastructure updates are completed.
To date, we have hired more than 300 employees at our satellite offices, and we will continue to hire patent examiners and administrative patent judges for them. Open positions will be posted on http://www.usajobs.gov/, keyword: USPTO.
I strongly believe in the strategic importance of our satellite offices serving their regional innovation and intellectual property communities. Working with local communities, our offices put tools into the hands of individuals who need assistance at every step of the business lifecycle. I am proud of the progress we have made over the last three years, and can’t wait to open our permanent spaces in Dallas and Silicon Valley as we continue our efforts to serve entrepreneurs from coast to coast.
Posted at 12:12PM Mar 18, 2015 in USPTO |