Shifting in Footprint and Purpose: Upcoming Changes to USPTO Office Space

Photograph of the USPTO headquarters in Alexandria, VA [1]

Recently, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) made news headlines in connection with a Moody’s credit rating downgrade involving real estate owner LCOR, the landlord of the USPTO’s headquarters in Alexandria, VA.[2] The downgrade comes in the wake of the USPTO’s demonstrated efforts to optimize its expenses by reducing leased office space in Virginia.[3] Specifically, the USPTO has already released leases involving two of its auxiliary facilities in Northern Virginia, and the agency has announced plans to release the leases of two main campus buildings of their headquarters by August 2024.[4] However, while the USPTO is downsizing in Virginia, the agency has indicated it is planning physical expansion elsewhere, as seen in their recent Request For Comments (RFC) that sought public input regarding the planning, design, and locations of multiple new USPTO offices.[5] This article provides an overview of the shifting physical footprint of the USPTO and outlines the underlying factors that may explain the simultaneous expansion in some locations, and reduction in others.

Reductions in Virginia:

The USPTO’s most recent financial report indicates several motivations behind their decision to downsize in Virginia.[6] Firstly, the agency observed that there was a reduced need for leased space as more employees decided to utilize remote work.[7] Even before the COVID pandemic, the USPTO had been an early adopter of remote work, and the remote work option has continued to become a more common practice for the agency.[8] Secondly, the agency has adopted a “Hybrid First” posture that focuses on a “new working paradigm” that allows employees to design a hybrid or fully virtual schedule.[9] This initiative appears to be one of the agency’s primary focuses, as it has provided them with benefits in recruitment, retention, and employee work-life-balance.[10] Lastly, the reduction in lease space is expected to total nearly $40 million in cost savings, which notably furthers their goal of optimizing expenses.[11]

Expansions in the Southeast and Massachusetts:

As part of the Unleashing American Innovators Act of 2022, the USPTO is directed to establish several new offices.[12] The first office is titled the “Southeast Regional Office,” and it is a traditional USPTO satellite office that will serve the southeast region of the United States.[13] The second office, titled a “Community Outreach Office,” is a new type of USPTO office that will focus on serving local innovators in that area.[14] As outlined below, the establishment of these new offices sets forth new visions and goals for how the USPTO plans to utilize its physical offices for more than just providing workspace to its employees.

The establishment of the Southeast Regional Office (SRO) is governed by Section 103 of the UAIA, which states that the SRO must be established within three years of the UAIA’s enactment.[15] The SRO is classified as a “satellite office,” and as such it will be the fifth USPTO satellite office.[16] Although the SRO is not a new office type, the UAIA amends the original purposes of the satellite offices to promote new goals.[17] The new aim is to “better connect patent filers and innovators with the Office” by explicitly providing for outreach activities to “individual inventors, small businesses, veterans, low-income populations, students, rural populations, and any geographic group of innovators that the Director may determine to be underrepresented in patent filings.”[18] Furthermore, it adds the purpose of enhancing patent examiner and administrative judge retention, including those from “economically, geographically, and demographically diverse backgrounds.”[19]

The establishment of the new community outreach offices (COOs) is governed by Section 104 of the UAIA, which states that the USPTO must establish no less than four community outreach offices within five years of the UAIA’s enactment.[20] These new offices are directed to partner with local organizations and institutions to create "community-based programs that provide education regarding the patent system and promote the career benefits of innovation and entrepreneurship.”[21] Additionally, they are directed to educate prospective innovators, particularly those underrepresented in patent filings, “about all public and private resources available to potential patent applicants, including the patent pro bono programs.”[22] To further these goals, the locations of the COOs cannot be in the same state as the USPTO headquarters (Virginia) or any regional office, and one of the COOs must be in the northern New England region.[23]

In light of the provisions of Sections 103 and 104 of the UAIA, the USPTO published an RFC in June of this year to gather public opinion and ideas regarding the planning, design, and location of the new offices.[24] Noting the importance of meeting innovators in their own communities, USPTO Director Kathi Vidal commented that she hopes the establishment of these new offices “can turn more communities into nerve centers for innovation and help bring more ideas to market for the benefit of our country.”[25] Looking forward, it will be interesting to see how these new offices will leverage their physical presence to support the agency’s outreach efforts and what effect they will have on the innovative output of the local communities they serve.

References: [1] Alan Kotok, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (photograph), in flickr (Nov. 17, 2013), https://www.flickr.com/photos/runneralan/10918850254. [2] See Notes: Patent and Trademark Office downsizing puts Alexandria’s largest landlord in hot water, ALXnow (Aug. 31, 2023, 8:45 AM), https://www.alxnow.com/2023/08/31/notes-patent-and-trademark-office-downsizing-puts-alexandrias-largest-landlord-in-hot-water/; Dennis Crouch, USPTO Downsizes HQ; Building Owner Faces Financial Troubles, Patently-O (Sept. 1, 2023), https://patentlyo.com/patent/2023/09/downsizes-building-financial.html. [3] United States Patent and Trademark Office, FY 2022 Agency Financial Report 60 (2022) [hereinafter AFR]. [4] Id. at 28 (detailing USPTO occupancy decision-making). [5] Request for Comments on Southeast Regional Office and Community Outreach Office Locations, 88 Fed. Reg. 37037, 37037-37039 (Jun. 14, 2023) [hereinafter RFC]. [6] AFR at 28, 60. [7] Id. at 60. [8] Id. at 60. [9] Id. [10] AFR at 60. [11] Id. at 28, 60. [12] Unleashing American Innovators Act, Pub. L. No. 117-328, §§ 103-04, 136 Stat. 4459 (2022) (codified at 35 U.S.C. § 1 note). The UAIA amends the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA) and was signed into law on December 29th, 2022, under Division W of the Consolidated Appropriations Act. See Consolidated Appropriations Act, Pub. L. No. 117-328, 136 Stat. 4459 (2022). [13] RFC, 88 Fed. Reg. at 37038. [14] USPTO Takes First Steps to Open Southeast Regional Office and New Community Outreach Offices; Seeks Public Feedback via New Request for Comments, USPTO: News & Updates (Jun. 5, 2023), https://www.uspto.gov/about-us/news-updates/uspto-takes-first-steps-open-southeast-regional-office-and-new-community (overviewing new office plans in light of recent Request for Comment). [15] Unleashing American Innovators Act § 103(b)(1). [16] Unleashing American Innovators Act § 103; RFC, 88 Fed. Reg. at 37038 (“Enabled by the 2011 America Invents Act . . . the USPTO currently has four regional offices that are located in Detroit, Michigan; San Jose, California (Silicon Valley); Denver, Colorado; and Dallas, Texas.”). The SRO will geographically serve the states of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas. See § 102(4) [17] See § 103(a). [18] Id. [19] Id. [20] Id. § 104(a)(1). [21] Id. § 104(b)(2)(A)-(B). [22] Unleashing American Innovators Act § 104(b)(3). [23] Id. § 104(a)(2)-(3). The northern New England region will serve Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Id. § 104(a)(3). [24] See RFC, 88 Fed. Reg. at 37037-37039. [25] USPTO Takes First Steps to Open Southeast Regional Office and New Community Outreach Offices; Seeks Public Feedback via New Request for Comments, supra note 13 (reporting Director Vidal’s statements regarding establishment of new regional and community outreach offices).