The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) opened the first ever satellite patent office in Detroit, Michigan amid fanfare on July 13, 2012. USPTO Director David Kappos swore-in the office’s first seven USPTO Board Judges who will preside over patent appeals cases and help speed up patent prosecution. In addition to the judges, approximately 25 patent examiners and other staff began work on Monday, July 16. The Detroit office is expected to create approximately 120 highly-skilled jobs in its first year of operations, which should help to reduce the backlog of patent applications and appeals. Three additional satellite offices are set to be opened in or around Dallas, Texas, Denver, Colorado, and Silicon Valley, California, as the USPTO announced July 2, 2012.

This is good news for inventors and entrepreneurs because it will help them to move their innovation to market more quickly, saving critical time and resources. In some cases the new office could allow for more economical prosecution by allowing Indianapolis attorneys to conduct Examiner interviews at the new office.

Go here to learn more about the opening of the new Patent Office. If you wish to learn more about how this can impact you as an inventor or entrepreneur, feel free to contact us here at Woodard, Emhardt, Moriarty, McNett & Henry LLP.