Proposing Places 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 normal 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 at the least yet one more. The Unleashing American Innovators Act of 2022 (UAIA) mandates creation of a Southeast Regional Workplace (SERO). The USPTO is now in search of feedback on the place the workplace needs to be positioned — and the methodology it ought to use in deciding on a location. [Fed Reg].
The statute requires that it’s positioned in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, or Arkansas. I might 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 right down to 4 potential cities: Atlanta, Jacksonville, Miami, and Nashville.
In my feedback to the PTO, I shall be together with the outcomes of this ballot: LinkedIn Poll. Voting is open for just a few 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 constructive adjustments in these areas. Concurrently, the Group Outreach Workplace goals to supply a platform for dialogue, bridging the hole between residents and the federal government. The statute units out 5 specific concerns:
- Strengthen connections between the Workplace and patent filers via enhanced outreach to a broad spectrum of innovators together with underrepresented, rural, low-income, and scholar populations.
- Enhance retention of numerous patent examiners and judges, bearing in mind financial, geographic, and demographic components.
- Improve the recruitment course of to draw extra high-quality patent examiners.
- Scale back the backlog of pending patent functions.
- 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 Group Outreach Workplace (NNECOO)” and the PTO is in search of feedback on its location as effectively. The USPTO shall be even be conducting a research to determine whether or not extra regional places of work would profit US innovation.
