Midwest Elijah J. McCoy Regional Outreach Office

The Midwest Elijah J. McCoy Regional Outreach Office is located in the Stroh Building at 300 River Place Drive, Detroit, Michigan. As the first United States Patent and Trademark Office's regional outreach office (opened July 2012), our goal is to promote innovation and stimulate the economy by connecting entrepreneurs to government resources, supporting students and teachers through our STEM education programs including professional development for teachers, gathering feedback from regional stakeholders, and recruiting diverse talent from the region. Browse the content below to learn more about what the Midwest Office can do for you.

Our services

To access any of the services below, click the respective link or send us an email.

Attend an upcoming event. We hold a variety of free events at our office for audiences of all ages including monthly programming about trademarks, patents, copyrights, and trade secrets.
Consult on-site patent and trademark experts.
Pick up free publications.
Request a speaker at your event.
Conduct an interview with your patent examiner (select "Public Interview Room," then "Detroit").
Schedule a tour of the office.
Schedule a K-12 event or teacher professional development workshop at your school.
Reserve a public search workstation.
Attend a Patent Trial and Appeal Board hearing. Visit the Hearing Schedule page for information on upcoming hearings.
Find a patent attorney or patent agent near you.

NOTE: The Midwest Office is unable to accept patent or trademark applications, correspondence related to prosecution, or fees. Please consider using our Patent Center for online filing. More information is available on our website: filing patent applications or filing trademark applications.

View PTAB proceedings

Patent Trial and Appeal Board at the Midwest Office

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) conducts trials, including inter partes, post-grant, and covered business method patent reviews and derivation proceedings, hears appeals from adverse examiner decisions in patent applications and reexamination proceedings, and renders decisions in interferences.

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) re-established in-person hearings in July 2022 at the USPTO headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, and at all USPTO regional outreach offices.

Parties have the option to appear virtually for appeals and trials.
Most in-person hearings will likely have one or more judges attending virtually.
PTAB will only conduct an in-person hearing when requested by all parties.
Specific details of each hearing may vary, and will be subject to hearing room availability, agency operating status, and guidelines. Parties should refer to their Scheduling Orders and Hearing Orders for details.
For public access to a PTAB hearing, either virtual or in-person, submit a request to PTABHearings@uspto.gov at least 3 days before the hearing.
For more information about PTAB oral hearings, please contact PTABHearings@uspto.gov or call 571-272-9797.

PTAB Home Page

Search patents or trademarks

Our public search room has two workstations with the same search tools that USPTO employees use when examining patent and trademark applications. Their access requirements and print capabilities are the same as those in the Public Search Facility at USPTO headquarters. Our search room is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, except federal holidays.

Please be aware that you will not be able to connect a removable media device—such as a thumb drive or your personal phone—to our USPTO computers for the purpose of downloading your search results. Please see the USPTO removable media policy for more information.

General use:

One workstation will be available for reservation per the guidelines below; the second station will remain a walk-up station for use on a first-come, first-served basis.
The walk-up station is limited to a maximum of three (3) hours per session if others are waiting.

Reservations:

Reservations may be made by walk-in, calling (313-446-4800), or by emailing detroitpublicsearch@uspto.gov. Please include the date and time requested along with an email address for confirmation.
Reservations must be made 24 hours in advance. An email confirmation will be sent.
The reserved workstation may be reserved in two (2) hour blocks. You may reserve the workstation consecutively for up to three sessions.
Users are encouraged to contact the office to cancel their reservation, as soon as possible, if they will not be coming in.
The Regional Director and Assistant Regional Director have the authority to bar users who misuse the workstations or the reservation system.

Are you new to patent or trademark searching? We encourage you to visit the Detroit Public Library - Main Branch (DPL), which is a Patent and Trademark Resource Center. DPL librarians are trained by the USPTO to provide an introduction to the patent and trademark application process.

The USPTO collections can also be searched online using Patent Public Search for patents and trademark search system for trademarks.

Use our space

We have a number of collaboration spaces that are intended for public use. These rooms may be configured to suit events of all sizes and are equipped with whiteboards, easels, telephones, and A/V equipment. Typical uses include inventor organization meetings, business councils, and networking events. Please contact us for more information and to reserve a space.

Meet the leadership team

As the Director Midwest Office since June 2024, Derris Banks carries out the strategic direction of the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO while leading the Midwest Office in Detroit. By focusing on the region and actively engaging with the community, Mr. Banks ensures the USPTO’s initiatives and programs are tailored to the region’s unique ecosystem of industries and stakeholders. More...

Elijah J. McCoy Midwest Regional Outreach Office Leadership

Name	Title
Derris Banks	Regional Director
James Wilson	Assistant Regional Director
Marilyn C. Nash	Regional Outreach Officer
Milton Cano	Supervisory Patent Examiner
Timothy Speer	Supervisory Patent Examiner
David McKone	Lead Patent Trial and Appeal Board Judge

Visit us

Address and contact info

300 River Place Drive
Suite 2900
Detroit, MI 48207
See map for location

Phone: 313-446-4800
Email: midwest@uspto.gov

Hours

Regular hours: Monday - Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET. Closed on federal holidays.

Building access instructions

Upon entering the building, proceed to the security desk and present a valid federal or state photo ID. After screening, the building security guards will direct you to the appropriate elevators. Once you reach the 2nd floor, continue to the USPTO guard desk.

Parking

Free parking is available in the parking garage at 600 River Place Drive, adjacent to our building. Guests must state they are visiting the USPTO.

Paid parking is across the street, payment is required just after parking ($4). Validate self-parking in the lobby with security, the parking attendant will provide a refund upon exit. Valet parking is not refundable. The parking fee refund is provided by building management. The USPTO is not responsible for parking fee refunds or any parking-related issues.

USPTO Removable Media Policy

Please be aware that you will not be able to connect unauthorized or personal removable media storage to any USPTO computer, docking station, or monitor at the Midwest Office. For more information, please see our USPTO removable media policy.