WASHINGTON, D.C. – It’s official.
The U.S. Department of Commerce today announced plans to open regional U.S. Patent and Trademark Offices in Denver, Dallas and Silicon Valley.
The new office locations are in addition to a fourth regional office in Detroit announced in late 2010. That office is scheduled to open July 13.
Commerce department officials said the new offices will “function as hubs of innovation and creativity, helping protect and foster American innovation in the global marketplace, helping businesses cut through red tape and creating new economic opportunities in each of the local communities.”
The Denver office is expected to generate $440 million in new economic activity annually and create hundreds of new high-paying jobs.
“Intellectual property protection and innovation are engines of economic growth and the bedrock of America’s private sector” said Rebecca Blank, acting U.S. Commerce Secretary.
“The Obama administration is committed to making certain our businesses and entrepreneurs have the resources they need to grow, create jobs and compete globally. These new offices are an historic step toward further advancing our world’s best IP system, and reinforcing the United States as the No. 1 destination for innovation capital and research and development around the world.”
Blank and Under Secretary David Kappos will travel to Denver and the other cities next week to meet with local businesses, entrepreneurs and public officials to discuss the new office openings.
The new offices are expected to be open by 2014.
