San Jose Wants Satellite Patent Office

San Jose made a play for a satellite office with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), submitting a proposal with the help of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group. Included in the application—but not in the link provided due to file size constraints—are letters from Mayor Chuck Reed and Silicon Valley business execs stating their case to David Kappos, Under Secretary for Intellectual Property with the USPTO.

None of this is too surprising—SVLG’s CEO, Carl Guardino, announced the proposal in an op-ed he wrote this past weekend. What was surprising in the announcement sent out of Mayor Chuck Reed’s office is the location of a satellite office already in line, ahead of San Jose.

“In addition to its Alexandria headquarters and a satellite office planned for Detroit,” the announcement says, “the USPTO intends to establish at least two more satellite offices in the next three years.”

Really? Nothing against the home of the nation’s auto industry—and I’m an admitted Lions fan whose family is from Michigan—but giving an office to Detroit before the supposed capitol of Silicon Valley seems like a stretch. As the press release notes, “Five of the nation’s Top 10 patent-producing cities are located in the Silicon Valley, with San Jose leading the way with 10,000 registered patents in 2009.”

In addition to the city and SVLG, Joint Venture Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley/San Jose Chamber of Commerce, San Jose State University, and other local businesses, universities and organizations endorsed San Jose’s proposal.

Josh Koehn is a former managing editor for San Jose Inside and Metro Silicon Valley.

7 Comments

  1. Don’t hold your breath or bet that San Jose will get USPTO office  

    It is a better bet we will not because Zoe Lofgren and Mike Honda for all their years in Congress have brought little to nothing back to San Jose while other Calfornia Dems brought 1000’s jobs and $100’s millions home to their districts

    Nancy Pelosi some single years brought $100 + million to San Francisco

    The only thing Lofgren and Honda come to San Jose is for campaign contributions and helping for themselves and politicians running for President rake in millions

  2. everyone knows SJ is going down the sewer! This council will bankrupt us.  Only president will come here to suck up more money.  I bet he does not stay in SJ, he just knows where the money is in the bay area.

    BO, (president) is sucking up our money as fast as our city council is spending it!

    Time for a change in both!

  3. What’s the big deal about a satellite office.  They got this FedEx and USPS service that will deliver you patent application expeditiously.  Just remember to use A10 paper for you submissions.

  4. Maybe if this Mayor, City Manager, and Council hadnt destroyed this City it might have happened. This city couldnt possibly offer anybody anything but excessive taxs,a poorly run city,a corrupt mayor, insanely understaffed public safety,  a city that only takes care of its developers and not its residents, increased low income housing……………other than that its perfect!

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