Buried on page 140 of the 152-page America Invents Act is the revival of the first satellite office of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, to be located in Detroit.
As a sign of the federal government’s commitment to finally breaking ground on it, the AIA even gave it a name — the Elijah J. McCoy United States Patent and Trademark Office.
We reported in January that the USPTO was to start hiring examiners in August of this year to start to work in the office, which was supposed to open sometime this year. But by April, plans for the Detroit location were put on hold indefinitely.
In September, the plan was back on, with the enactment of the AIA.
There’s no word yet on where the office will be, it’s expected to be open in the spring of next year. And with more than 100 workers needed to staff it, it’s the one facet of the AIA that’s certain to produce jobs.
The Michigan Lawyer 