Washington, D.C. – Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet today congratulated Molly Kocialski on her swearing in as the Director of the Rocky Mountain Regional United States Patent and Trademark Office in Denver. Kocialski will lead the office with a focus on engaging the intellectual property communities in Colorado and eight other states.
“Colorado’s innovators and entrepreneurs should be pleased to have a leader like Molly Kocialski at the helm of the Denver patent office,” Bennet said. “Molly’s background in Colorado’s intellectual property community makes her a valuable asset to our state and the entire region. We’re excited to have her on board and ready to get to work helping Coloradans bring their ideas to life.”
The Rocky Mountain Regional United States Patent and Trademark Office serves the Rocky Mountain region, including Colorado, Idaho, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas. The office, located in downtown Denver, provides outreach services for inventors, entrepreneurs, startups, researchers and others.
Bennet played an integral role in creating and bringing the patent office to Denver. His efforts began by securing an amendment in the 2011 patent reform law directing the USPTO to establish three satellite offices nationwide. He then worked closely with Colorado’s business community and local governments to make the case for locating the office in Colorado, including leading several letters from Colorado’s Congressional delegation urging the Administration and the USPTO to choose Colorado as a location for a satellite office.
The office officially opened in its current location in the Byron G. Rogers Federal Building in June 2014. Administrative patent judges began work in Colorado in 2013.