Silicon Valley to Get a Patent, Trademark Office

Bay Area companies will soon have easier access to patent their inventions and protect their brands the announcement of a new US Patent and Trademark Office in Silicon Valley.

The office to be located in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, along with Denver and Dallas, has been chosen to receive one of the first patent offices outside the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) headquarters in Alexandria, Va.

As a result of the America Invents Act, a patent reform Law signed by President Barack Obama in September, at least three PTO satellite offices will open by 2014, and followed one scheduled to open in Detroit on July 13, 2012.

"By expanding our operation outside of the Washington metropolitan area for the first time in our agency’s 200-plus year history, we are taking unprecedented steps to recruit a diverse range of talented technical experts, creating new opportunities across the American workforce," said David Kappos, Director of the US Patent and Trademark Office.

"These efforts, in conjunction with our ongoing implementation of the America Invents Act, are improving the effectiveness of our IP system, and breathing new life into the innovation ecosystem.”

Bay Area political leaders quickly praised the decision and stressed the role this new office will play .

"With Stanford and other top research universities, a highly skilled workforce, and a sizable share of the nation's patents, it's critical to have a patent office in Silicon Valley," said Representative Anna Eshoo (D-Palo Alto), who along with her colleagues Rep. Zoe Lofgren and Rep. Mike Honda advocated a California office.

The Silicon Valley bureau will likely have between 150 and 200 new patent examiners, who will be of assistance with the current backlog of 620,000 pending applications, according to the PTO.

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