Request for Comments on new USPTO Outreach Offices - Summary of responses

In June 2023, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) solicited stakeholder input through a Request for Comments (RFC) on where the USPTO should establish the Southeastern Regional Office (SERO) and the Northern New England Community Outreach Office (NNECOO) as required by the Unleashing American Innovators Act of 2022. The RFC also sought stakeholder input on the essential services its outreach offices should provide, and the types of agencies and/or organizations the USPTO should collaborate with to enhance its ability to fulfill the purposes of these new offices.

The USPTO will use the responses in two ways. First, comments that suggested a specific location for the SERO or NNECOO will inform the USPTO Director’s process for determining the location for these outreach offices. Second, many of the responses will help inform the USPTO on how it can use its outreach offices to expand its reach and foster a more inclusive intellectual property (IP) ecosystem to drive American innovation.

Breakdown of respondents

Graphic displaying the types and relative proportion of respondents, from individual commenters to comments from public, private, and nonprofit sector entities. Agency employees represented 32% of the respondents. More information provided in text on the page. — Graphic displaying the types and relative proportion of respondents, from individual commenters to comments from public, private, and nonprofit sector entities. Agency employees represented 32% of the respondents.

The USPTO received 208 responses from a variety of internal and external stakeholders. Of these, 67 were agency employees, representing 32% of the respondents. The remaining 68% were external stakeholders, including:

Individuals (30)
Representatives of for-profit entities (52)
Local business development organizations, such as chambers of commerce (15)
Nonprofit organizations (12)
Federal, state and local government agencies (12)
Educational institutions (9)
Small business accelerators, incubators, tech hubs (7)
Law firms (4)

In total, the RFC elicited responses from stakeholders in 24 states.

Key takeaways

Locations for the Southeast Regional Office and Northern New England Community Outreach Office

The USPTO received 156 responses suggesting potential locations for the Southeast Regional Office and the Northern New England Community Outreach Office. Coupled with statutory requirements as well as quantitative metrics and criteria as identified in the RFC, these comments will assist the USPTO in identifying specific locations for those offices.

Planning and design of Regional Offices

Respondents identified multiple services that regional offices (ROs) should provide to support stakeholders and expand access to the IP ecosystem. The services considered most essential were:

Educational outreach (26%)
Opportunities for easy collaboration among researchers and inventors (19%)
In-person filing assistance for unrepresented filers (14%)

While most stakeholders (70%) were open to the USPTO providing these essential services in a virtual or hybrid format, a significant number of respondents (30%) believed these services are most effective when provided in person.

Graphic displaying the respondents’ recommended services for regional offices and their relative proportions. Respondents identified educational outreach as the most essential at 26% of responses. More information provided in text on the page. — Graphic displaying the respondents’ recommended services for regional offices and the relative proportions of the suggestions. Respondents identified educational outreach as the most essential at 26% of responses.

Respondents also suggested key relationships and collaborations that USPTO ROs should develop to help leverage and scale their services. Nearly one quarter (23%) of respondents suggested that ROs should pursue strategic relationships with universities and law schools located in their regions, followed by collaborations with:

Incubators, accelerators, and other multi-jurisdictional economic development entities (14%)
Local small businesses (13%)
Other federal, state, and local agencies, including the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Department of Defense (DOD) (13%)

Planning and design of Community Outreach Offices

Respondents identified multiple services that community outreach offices (COOs) should provide to support stakeholders and expand access to the IP ecosystem. The services considered most essential were:

Educational outreach (36%)
Filing assistance for unrepresented filers (24%)
Opportunities for easy collaboration among researchers and inventors (17%) and with trade schools and community colleges (10%)

Similar to RO services, most respondents (65%) were open to the USPTO providing these essential services in a hybrid format, with 35% preferring in-person service delivery, especially for those who are new to IP.

Graphic displaying the respondents’ recommended services for community outreach offices and their relative proportions. Respondents identified educational outreach as a key service offering for the Community Outreach Offices, with 36% of the responses citing it as an essential service. More information provided in text on the page. — Graphic displaying the respondents’ recommended services for community outreach offices and the relative proportions of the suggestions. Respondents identified educational outreach as the most essential at 36% of responses.

Respondents also provided helpful suggestions on key relationships and collaborations that COOs should cultivate. The most frequently suggested collaborations included:

Universities and law schools (26%); and
Local small businesses (24%)

Respondents also mentioned numerous other entities as potential collaborators, underscoring the range of community connection opportunities for COOs. Importantly, a vast majority of respondents (86%) supported the idea of co-locating COOs with other public sector entities or service providers.

Additional comments

Several respondents commented on the unique services that ROs and COOs should provide to distinguish themselves from each other and on ways their work could be complementary. Others suggested that ROs could serve as hoteling locations for USPTO employees. Some respondents favored the idea that COOs should provide outreach and training specifically to novice IP customers. Some respondents also suggested that the USPTO should specifically tailor the work of all the outreach offices—both ROs and COOs—to address the needs of the local economies that they serve.

The USPTO greatly values all the comments that were provided and looks forward to continuing to work collaboratively with stakeholders to drive inclusive innovation in the U.S. through active provision of outreach and educational services.