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Silicon Valley Patent Office Opening Delayed ... Again

By Gabriella Khorasanee, JD on April 14, 2014 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

When Congress enacted the America Invents Act in 2011, the USPTO was charged with designating four satellite office locations, and they chose: Detroit, Denver, Silicon Valley and Dallas. The Detroit office was successfully opened in July 2012, the Denver office is hiring, and the Dallas office has been operating out of a temporary space since 2013.

What's going on with the Silicon Valley office?

The USPTO's Silicon Valley satellite office is operating out of a less central temporary office, and is only staffed with a few Patent Trial and Appeal Board judges, according to Corporate Counsel. What's the hold up?

The First Delay

Last July, the USPTO announced that because of "budget constraints under sequestration, our efforts to move into permanent spaces for those three locations will be delayed." The delay raised questions because the USPTO is self funded, and not funded by the Government's tax revenue. However, the White House Office of Management and Budget determined that is could not exempt the USPTO from the budget cuts.

The Second Delay

The Silicon Valley USPTO office was scheduled to open late this year, but now the opening has been delayed again, this time "the result of two government entities taking months to negotiate and also deciding that a slower construction schedule would be cheaper," reports the San Jose Mercury News.

The permanent office will be located in San Jose's City Hall building and is expected to measure 35,200 square feet and cost $6 million. The Government is getting discounted rent for the first five years, and has the option of staying another five years at the discounted rate. After that, the USPTO can opt for another ten years at regular price, reports the Mercury.

Let's hope there won't be any further delays in setting up this satellite office. Silicon Valley attorneys, inventors, and prospective employees of the satellite office are eagerly awaiting its arrival.

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