Proposing Areas for Southeast Regional Workplace
2 min read
by Dennis Crouch
The USPTO started establishing satellite tv for pc places of work a decade in the past to develop past the standard Alexandria (Washington DC) headquarters. We now have places of work in Detroit, Dallas, Denver, and San Jose. Final yr, Congress voted to additional develop the decentralization by a minimum of yet another. The Unleashing American Innovators Act of 2022 (UAIA) mandates creation of a Southeast Regional Workplace (SERO). The USPTO is now searching for feedback on the place the workplace needs to be positioned — and the methodology it ought to use in choosing a location. [Fed Reg].
The statute requires that or not it’s positioned in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, or Arkansas. I’d mechanically rule-out Virginia and North Carolina as too near the PTO HQ; and in addition rule-out Arkansas as too near the Dallas Workplace. In my thoughts, I shortly narrowed issues all the way down to 4 potential cities: Atlanta, Jacksonville, Miami, and Nashville.
In my feedback to the PTO, I might be together with the outcomes of this ballot: LinkedIn Poll. Voting is open for a couple of extra days. Atlanta is at present within the lead.
The core goal right here is to is to ship higher companies to residents and inventors within the area; be extra aware of their wants; and drive optimistic adjustments in these areas. Concurrently, the Neighborhood Outreach Workplace goals to offer a platform for dialogue, bridging the hole between residents and the federal government. The statute units out 5 specific issues:
- Strengthen connections between the Workplace and patent filers via enhanced outreach to a broad spectrum of innovators together with underrepresented, rural, low-income, and pupil populations.
- Enhance retention of various patent examiners and judges, taking into consideration financial, geographic, and demographic components.
- Improve the recruitment course of to draw extra high-quality patent examiners.
- Cut back the backlog of pending patent purposes.
- Elevate the requirements of patent examination to make sure better accuracy and high quality.
Along with the brand new Southeast Regional Workplace, the PTO has additionally been tasked with opening a “Northern New England Neighborhood Outreach Workplace (NNECOO)” and the PTO is searching for feedback on its location as nicely. The USPTO might be even be conducting a examine to determine whether or not extra regional places of work would profit US innovation.
