DETROIT – It was a milestone for Michigan. Friday The U.S Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) officially opened the first-ever patent office outside of Washington, DC.
"Patents are the fuel for American innovation," Acting Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank said in her remarks. "By opening the doors to America's first-ever satellite patent office in Detroit, we are going to put more patents in the hands of entrepreneurs throughout this region and across the country."
Acting U.S. Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank and Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) David Kappos, along with elected officials, today participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially open the Elijah J. McCoy.
"The McCoy office will make America's patent system stronger, empowering America's innovators to attract capital, put their business plans into action, and create more good jobs for the middle class," said Secretary Blank.
The Detroit location will create approximately 120 highly-skilled jobs in its first year of operations alone. This will help reduce the backlog of patents and simultaneously speed up the process that will allow businesses to move their innovation to market more quickly, saving critical time and resources.
Sue Coleman, president of the University of Michigan, attended the ceremony and noted that U-M researchers typically earn more than 100 patents a year. "We plan to keep this office busy," she said.
The Detroit office building is a 31,000 square foot space located at 300 River Place Drive in Detroit, Michigan. About 80% of patents are issued to large entities such as General Motors and Ford Motor Co. But about 20% come from the everyday people and U.S. Patent office is hoping there are more "real McCoy's" in their future.