Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet today applauded the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) progress toward opening its satellite office in downtown Denver. USPTO Director David Kappos announced this week that the agency will begin its operations out of temporary space in Lakewood until renovations at the Byron G. Rogers Federal Building in Denver are completed. Operation in the Lakewood facility will begin on January 2nd, 2013.
“We are yet another step closer to a satellite patent office in Colorado that will bring jobs and economic development,” Bennet said. “The Lakewood office means that patent examiners and judges will begin working in Denver, providing easier access for applicants and inventors in many parts of the country. It also enhances Colorado’s reputation as a leader for innovation and entrepreneurial companies and a hotbed for cutting-edge industries. I look forward to continuing to work with Director Kappos and the agency to ensure that the opening of the Denver office is a success.”
“Colorado is alive with innovation, with a highly educated workforce and top-notch universities and R&D institutions,” said Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO David Kappos. “Opening a temporary satellite office in Lakewood will enable us to put to work immediately the talented judges we’re already beginning to hire as we promote innovation in Colorado and throughout the Mountain West.”
“We said from the very beginning of our efforts to secure this office that it would be a game changer,” said John Posthumus, a shareholder with the law office of Sheridan Ross P.C. “The opening of the temporary office location is a critical first step in changing the game and elevating our stature as a place for continued growth and opportunities for innovators and entrepreneurs.”
USPTO is actively recruiting and hiring administrative patent judges for its Patent Trial and Appeal Board in the Denver area, who will work out of the Lakewood temporary office. The office will also provide USPTO a base of operations for officials visiting from headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, to connect with the innovation community in Colorado more easily.
The office is located at the Denver Federal Center at West 6th Avenue and Kipling Streets in Lakewood.
Bennet helped lead the effort to bring the satellite office to Colorado. He authored an amendment that instructed the USPTO to open three new satellite offices around the country. Bennet then led a bipartisan effort with the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation and Sheridan Ross, PC that included leaders from government, the business community, academia and from communities across the state to make the case for Colorado.