Three years ago, in an effort to reduce patent backlog, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) began expanding their intellectual property operations across the country, specifically opening satellite offices in Dallas, Texas, Denver, Silicon Valley and Detroit. Representatives for the USPTO recently spoke on their expansion at the annual SXSW Festival in Austin, just a few weeks ago and characterized the entrepreneurial community in Texas as unique.
The USPTO Dallas office will be located in the Terminal Annex Federal Building and is slated to open later this year after renovations and infrastructure updates are completed. The Terminal Annex Federal Building is located along the southern edge of Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas and is close to public transportation. By opening new offices across the country, the USPTO is looking to speed up the patent filing and patent dispute processes allowing businesses to faster move their innovations to market.
Their goal is to have 100 patent case examiners and 20 administrative patent judges, as well as several patent support staff, on site in Dallas by the end of the first year of operation. A kiosk for inventors with direct communication to a patent office assistance center, along with other inventor resources, will be available. In addition to adding employees to the USPTO to improve their throughput, the local office will aid in making the patent process more transparent and more understandable to inventors in North Texas.
The Courtney Firm is uniquely positioned within North Texas to serve the patent filing needs of clients through the USPTO Dallas office.