Bennet Authored Amendment to Create to New Satellite Patent Offices, Led Efforts to Bring Office to Colorado
New Office Expected to Bring Hundreds of Jobs and Millions in Economic Activity
Today, Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet celebrated the announcement by the U.S. Department of Commerce that Denver has been selected as one of three locations for a satellite patent office. He was joined by Governor John Hickenlooper, Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock, Congressman Ed Perlmutter, local officials and key business leaders at the Anschutz Health and Wellness Center at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.
“Colorado is the right place for the USPTO expansion,” Bennet said. “We have a deeply embedded culture of innovation that has helped establish our state as a destination for inventors and entrepreneurs. We are home to an array of cutting-edge industries—from bioscience, to new energy, to aerospace, to web technologies—and countless university and federal research institutions that churn out new ideas and inventions at an almost daily clip.
“The work to bring the patent office to Colorado was a collaborative effort that included bipartisan support in government, the business community, academia and from local leaders across the state.”
Over the past two years, Bennet led several letters from the Colorado Delegation to President Obama, USPTO Director David Kappos, and Commerce Secretaries Gary Locke and John Bryson, urging them to consider Colorado for a job-creating satellite office. The efforts have also been supported by Colorado’s veterans community, multiple business leaders, and Wyoming Senator Mike Enzi.
A report compiled by Posthumus, Bennet, the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation, and the Colorado business community included an economic study that estimates a satellite office in Denver would bring hundreds of direct jobs and even more indirect jobs, as well as lead to economic activity totaling $440 million over the first five years of operation.
The report was part of Bennet’s continued efforts to bring the patent office to Colorado. 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 by 2014.
According to the Commerce Department, the Denver area provides the USPTO with a Mountain Time zone hub from which to operate. Empirical evidence demonstrates that Denver is a sought-after place to live and work with relatively low cost-of-living—a critical combination for the recruitment and retention of top talent. Further, the economic impact of a USPTO satellite office in the Denver region is projected to be disproportionate relative to most other cities. Denver also boasts an above average population of potential Veteran employees.
The Denver office, along with the other three satellite offices, will help the USPTO reduce its backlog of 640,000 patent applications. The USPTO plans to begin site procurement activity and establish a timeline for opening the Denver office in the coming months.
