Bennet Works to Organize Letter of Support from Colorado Veterans Service Organizations, Student Veterans Organizations, Military Associations, Non-Profits and Employers
Colorado Veterans Community Could Help USPTO Reach Goal of Doubling Percentage of Veteran Hires
Colorado’s veterans community today, with the help of Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, sent a letter to Azam Khan, deputy chief of staff at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), supporting Colorado as the location of a new satellite patent office.
“We believe Colorado’s large veterans population, the state’s leadership on coordinating community resources to help transition veterans to civilian employment, and ample training resources make it an ideal location for a satellite office that will help the USPTO meet its goal of doubling the percentage of veteran hires for the patent examiner corps,” the organizations wrote in the letter.
“Colorado’s strong veterans community is yet another element that makes Colorado a great location for a new satellite patent office,” said Bennet. “The USPTO has made a commendable commitment to hiring our returning troops and veterans here at home. With our large veteran population, top-notch training institutions and excellent transitional services, Colorado is perfectly positioned to provide the veteran workforce the USPTO is looking for.”
The USPTO plans to hire more than 1,500 patent examiners in fiscal year 2012 and has set a target of 10 percent of these hires to be filled by veterans, double the current percentage.
Bennet helped to organize the veterans groups in support of a new satellite patent office in Colorado. Bennet’s staff joined Colorado business leaders earlier this year to hand-deliver a package of support from Coloradans urging the USPTO to select Colorado as the location for a new satellite patent office.
Last year, he secured an amendment, cosponsored by Colorado U.S. Senator Mark Udall, in the patent reform law that empowers the USPTO to establish three new satellite patent offices across the country over the next three years. Over the past year, Bennet and the Colorado Delegation have sent letters to President Obama and USPTO Director David Kappos encouraging them to consider Colorado for a job-creating satellite office.
Full text of the letter, as well as the signers, is included below.
Dear Mr. Khan:
We are writing in support of Colorado’s recent bid for the placement of a new satellite U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in Denver, Colorado. We believe Colorado’s large veterans population, the state’s leadership on coordinating community resources to help transition veterans to civilian employment, and ample training resources make it an ideal location for a satellite office that will help the USPTO meet its goal of doubling the percentage of veteran hires for the patent examiner corps.
Colorado is a great place to hire veterans. In addition to the 424,228 veterans currently living in the state, Colorado is home to a large U.S. Army installation in Ft. Carson, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, the U.S. Northern Command, three U.S. Air Force Bases, the U.S. Air Force Academy, and Colorado National Guard installations. Upon leaving the military, many service members choose to stay in Colorado, a decision that is made easier when they find solid employment opportunities.
Colorado is a national leader in coordinating community resources to place veterans in the work- force. For instance, the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments, a voluntary association of 16 municipal and county governments, is working to offer a Whole Community approach to meet the needs of service members, veterans, and their families. This groundbreaking coordination provides a new approach to building a smooth transition and support network for veterans transitioning from active duty service to the civilian workforce. And Colorado’s leadership in this area will ensure that the qualified veterans interested in working in the Patent Office find their way to the jobs that are available.
Moreover, Colorado has strong university programs to further the educational goals of the USPTO and its examiners. The graduate engineering programs at the University of Colorado, Colorado State University, University of Denver, and the Colorado School of Mines offer flexible education options through their distance learning programs. These programs will be useful to veterans who become patent examiners interested in further developing their expertise in engineering fields. In addition, the law schools at the University of Colorado and the University of Denver offer numerous intellectual property courses. As Dean Phil Weiser of the University of Colorado Law School indicated in a letter of support for the Denver USPTO satellite office, the law school would be “delighted” to, wherever possible, open up such courses—or individual lectures—to USPTO employees.
We commend the USPTO’s plans to more than double the percentage of veteran hires for its patent examiner corps. As Director Kappos has recognized, the USPTO will benefit from the leadership skills and dedication to public service of those who have served our country in uniform and we commend the USPTO’s commitment to hiring veterans. Our state, with its large concentration of veterans and successful public-private partnerships in the Front Range, is a natural location for a USPTO satellite office that will help you achieve that goal.
Sincerely,
United Veterans Committee*
American Legion – Department of Colorado
Paralyzed Veterans of America – Mountain States Chapter
Veterans of Foreign Wars – Department of Colorado Post1
National Guard Association of Colorado
Denver Options
Home Front Cares
Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company
Project Sanctuary
Sturm College of Law Veterans Association – University of Denver
Student Veterans of America – University of Colorado, Colorado Springs
Student Veterans Organization – Colorado State University
Student Veterans Organization – Colorado Technical University
Student Veterans Organization – University of Colorado Boulder
Student Veterans Organization – University of Colorado Denver
* The United Veterans Committee of Colorado (UVC) is a non-profit coalition of 45 chartered and federally recognized veterans service organizations and affiliates established in 1972. The following organizations are voting members of the UVC:
Air Force Association
Air Force Sergeants Association
American Ex-POWs
American GI Forum
American Legion
American Merchant Marine Veterans – Colorado
Armed Forces Top Enlisted Association
Association of US Army
Associated Veterans of Colorado
Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Association
Chosin Few
Colorado County VSO Association
Colorado POW/MIA
Combat Infantryman’s Association
Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association
Denver-Fitzsimons National Sojourners
Disabled American Veterans
E-9ers Association
Education Foundation
Fleet Reserve Association
Gold Star Wives of America
Jewish War Veterans
Korean War Veterans
Marine Corps League
Military Order of the Purple Heart
Military Officers of America Association
National Association for Uniformed Services
National Guard Association – Colorado
National Association of Black Veterans
Navy League
Navy Waves of Colorado
Non-Commissioned Officers Association
Pearl Harbor Survivors Association
Paralyzed Veterans Association – Mountain States
Rocky Mountain USO at Denver International Airport
Society of Military Widows
Special Forces Association
The Retired Enlisted Association
United Spinal Association
Veteran Widows Intl. Network
Veterans of Foreign Wars
Veterans of WWI
Vietnam Veterans of America
Womens Army Corps Veterans Association
Womens Marines Association