Patent Reform Act of 2011 -- Resumed --

Floor Speech

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Mr. BENNET. Mr. President, I thank Chairman Leahy for working to pass an amendment I introduced last week with Senator Udall to authorize the Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, USPTO, to establish three or more satellite offices. This amendment will go a long way toward improving the efficiency and quality at the USPTO.

I really appreciate the chairman and ranking member for working with us to modify the amendment's language in order to address colleagues' concerns on both sides of the aisle. We struck a good balance to not tie the hands of the USPTO, allow the Office to take advantage of the work it has done on the satellite office concept, and ensure that PTO can have an open, competitive process in making determinations for future regional satellite offices. At this moment, I would like to invite the senior Senator from Colorado, Mark Udall, to enter into a colloquy to discuss this amendment.

The establishment of regional satellite offices will help the USPTO recruit and retain workers from across the country. Regional offices will draw local scientists, engineers and patent attorneys into the USPTO, which add real world expertise to the patent review process. They will also increase outreach activities and connection to patent filers; enhance the ability of the USPTO to recruit and retain patent examiners; and improve the quality and pendency for patent applications.

In short, USPTO Director Kappos has already taken steps toward establishing regional satellite offices. Our amendment is intended to build on this prior work, which I believe provides a good foundation for the USPTO improving its footprint in innovation centers across the country. I know Senator Udall and I will be advocating for a regional satellite office in Denver, and of course we expect other advocates to point out the merits of their potential sites as well.

Mr. UDALL of Colorado. I would also like to thank the chairman for helping us pass this important amendment. Right now, the European Union uses four geographically diverse patent offices. By only having one patent office, we are at a competitive disadvantage. We need to have these regional offices in order to connect innovators and businesses across the country.

The current lack of regional satellite offices is even more of a problem when you consider all of the recruitment and retention issues the USPTO is having with its patent examiner workforce. USPTO is unable to hire and retain over 6,000 examiners at its single location in Alexandria, VA. This has resulted in one-third of patent examiners having been with the USPTO for less than 3 years. USPTO should be recruiting examiners from across the country. Establishing satellite offices will help the USPTO develop expertise from all regions of the country--and I know that a satellite office in Denver, CO, would attract highly qualified examiners.

Mr. BENNET. I agree with the Senator. We need to be maximizing our human capital. I have heard from a number of more senior patent attorneys and engineers in Denver that would love to work for the USPTO but cannot uproot their families across the country. Having a satellite office in places like Denver will make sure we are taking advantage of these high-skilled workers.

While our amendment provides for an open process and does not constrain the USPTO in making determinations for future offices, we do hope that the Office can build on its decision making process in 2010. This process ultimately led to the selection of Detroit as an initial regional satellite. While Senator Udall and I were disappointed that Colorado wasn't selected, we respect the thoroughness of the USPTO's review and do not want all of its hard work in reviewing locations across the country to go to waste.

Mr. UDALL of Colorado. There really are a number of objective reasons for choosing Denver. First, opening an office in Colorado will permit USPTO to recruit and hire from a pool of the best candidates the U.S. has to offer. Colorado is home to a great number of technology workers who would be excellent long-term patent examiners for an office located in Colorado. The technology workforce in Colorado is consistently ranked in the top-10 in the U.S. in many important categories. According to a report by Pew Research, Colorado is ranked: third for percent of workers with a bachelor's degree or more; fifth for number of workers with science and engineering degrees per capita; fifth for number of scientists and engineers as a percent of the labor force; and second for number of patents per 1,000 workers. Additionally, other Federal agencies have found Colorado to be a great place to locate an office. Outside of the Washington metro area, Denver has the highest number of Federal employees per capita.

Because Colorado is a very desirable place to live, locating a satellite office in Colorado would allow the USPTO to dramatically improve its ability to recruit and retain its most valuable employees. According to the report by Pew Research, Colorado is ranked first for percent of U.S. workers who say they want to live there; and sixth for the percentage of sunny days. Colorado is also well known for its reasonable cost of living, especially in comparison to cities located on the east and west coasts, and Chicago.

Colorado is also centrally located in the U.S. and easily accessible to the entire country. Our location in the middle of the country provides convenient access for the technology centers of the West, Midwest, and Rocky Mountain regions.

Mr. BENNET. I fully agree with Senator Udall. There are a number of clear, objective reasons why Colorado should be a regional satellite location for the USPTO. My understanding is that in 2010 the USPTO applied a number of criteria to review numerous site possibilities. This criteria included patents granted, per capita; scientists and engineers in the State, per capita; proximity to law schools and major research institutions; number of patent attorneys and agents; number of teleworking PTO patent examiners; and presence of Federal employees, office space. This approach makes sense. By all accounts--and I admit I am biased here--Denver is at the top. It is my strong view that when you factor in our central location and accessibility to the rest of the country, it makes sense for an office to be located in Denver.

Mr. UDALL of Colorado. I look forward to working closely with the Senator to advocate for an office in Denver. I think a Western office will go a long way toward ensuring the success of our patent system.

Mr. BENNET. I thank the Senator.

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