Wyoming Senator Mike Enzi Joins Effort to Open Patent Office in Colorado

Reflects Growing Regional Support for Colorado

Wyoming U.S. Senator Mike Enzi has joined a growing and regional chorus of supporters to establish a satellite office of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in Colorado. Enzi expressed his support in letter to David Kappos, director of the patent office, which reinforced Colorado’s case as the best location for a new office.

“Regional offices in strategically placed locations can provide a meaningful boost to our country’s economy,” Enzi wrote in the letter. “Having easy, in-person access to the USPTO will not only help connect Wyoming inventors with USPTO patent examiners, but will also spur innovation, entrepreneurship, and small business growth across our state.”

“Senator Enzi’s support underscores Colorado’s prime location for the patent office,” Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet said.  “It also represents growing regional support for Colorado which has already seen unprecedented support from the business community, public officials and academia across the state.  Colorado will put the USPTO at the center of one of the country’s most vibrant clusters of innovation, technological development, and economic growth.”

Last year, Bennet 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 past year, Bennet has led Colorado delegation letters to President Obama, Commerce Secretaries Gary Locke and John Bryson and USPTO Director David Kappos encouraging them to consider Colorado for a job-creating satellite office. In January, a contingent of Colorado business leaders and Bennet staff traveled to Washington to present the package “Accelerating Innovation: The Case for a Satellite Patent Office in Colorado.”

A patent office in Colorado would bring hundreds of jobs and more indirect jobs as well as a $440 million economic impact over the first 5 years, according to reports. 

Wyoming sits on Colorado’s northern border and some of the states’ population centers are in close proximity.  Cheyenne is 46 miles from Fort Collins and 101 miles from Denver.

Text of the letter below:

June 8, 2012

The Honorable David Kappos
Under Secretary of Intellectual Property and
Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Madison Building
600 Dulany Street
Alexandria, VA 22314

Dear Director Kappos:

I am writing to express my support for a new U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) satellite location in Colorado.

Regional offices in strategically placed locations can provide a meaningful boost to our country’s economy. Having easy, in-person access to the USPTO will not only help connect Wyoming inventors with USPTO patent examiners, but will also spur innovation, entrepreneurship, and small business growth across our state.

As a former small business owner and senior member of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, I know firsthand that small businesses are the backbone of Wyoming’s economy and serve as an engine of economic growth. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, there are more than 59,000 small businesses in Wyoming and 97 percent of all Wyoming employers are small businesses.

For nine years, I have also hosted an Inventors Conference in Wyoming to help residents turn their ideas into a business. I have interacted with full-time inventors and people who explore ideas with weekend projects in their garages. Wyoming is full of individuals who bring unique ideas and ingenuity to the table. Now is the time to empower our nation’s entrepreneurs because they have the expertise, energy, and initiative to lead our economic growth.

Colorado’s central location and proximity to some of the most rural areas of our country will enhance customer service at USPTO. A satellite office within driving distance or a short flight from Wyoming will also help our inventors protect and commercialize their ideas in a timelier manner. As further consideration is given to the Colorado application, I ask that USPTO consider the unique opportunities a centralized office in the Mountain West will bring to the region and the rest of the country.

Sincerely,

Michael B. Enzi
U.S. Senator