Background
In 2011, Congress enacted the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act which authorized the first four regional offices of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Ultimately, the USPTO placed offices in Detroit, Dallas, Denver, and San Jose. The establishment of these offices moved the agency toward a new outreach model that meets Americans where they are and has yielded great economic and social benefits to both the USPTO and the communities that these offices serve.
The Unleashing American Innovators Act of 2022 (UAIA) was signed into law on December 29, 2022, and further expands the outreach footprint of the USPTO. The UAIA directs the USPTO to:
- Establish a Southeast Regional Office (SERO) within three years of enactment, and
- Establish a community outreach office in the northern New England region (the Northern New England Community Outreach Office – (NNECOO) within five years of enactment.
The UAIA also authorized the USPTO to establish at least three additional community outreach offices and to conduct a study to determine whether additional satellite (regional) offices are needed. Collectively, the new offices will further extend the USPTO’s outreach efforts, as well as place additional focus on reaching inventors and entrepreneurs from underrepresented backgrounds.
Updates
At this time, the USPTO is focusing its initial work on the establishment of the SERO and NNECOO. On December 13, 2023, the USPTO announced that Atlanta, Georgia, would serve as the location for the SERO and Strafford County, New Hampshire, as the location for the NNECOO.
The decisions for office locations were informed by statutory requirements of the UAIA along with public input from a June 2023 Request for Comments (RFC). The new regional office in Atlanta is expected to be fully opened and operational by December 2025, with the New Hampshire outreach office soon thereafter.
For comments or general inquiries, please email NewOffices@USPTO.gov.
UAIA Study of Patent Pro Bono Programs
On December 29, 2023, the USPTO transmitted to Congress a study required by the UAIA. The study looked at data captured from the patent pro bono programs since 2015, comments solicited through two public listening sessions, and written comments submitted via a Federal Register Notice, and found that the Patent Pro Bono Program is expanding access to the patent system to financially under resourced independent inventors and small businesses. Information on the study can be found here.