New patent office coming to Silicon Valley

The Commerce Department announced on Monday that the Patent and Trademark Office will open a satellite office in California's Silicon Valley.

The department also chose Dallas and Denver for new offices. These offices will be in addition to the first regional patent office, which will open on July 13 in Detroit.

The move is a victory for Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), the Silicon Valley lawmaker who had pushed the Patent and Trademark Office to locate one of its new satellite offices in the area.

Eshoo, along with nine other Bay Area lawmakers, sent a letter to the administration last year arguing that Silicon Valley should be the home for a satellite office because of the area's high number of technology companies that file for patents.

In a statement, Eshoo said the Commerce Department made a "wise decision."

"With Stanford and other top research universities, a highly skilled workforce, and a sizable share of the nation's patents, it's critical to have a patent office in Silicon Valley," she said.

Congress directed the Commerce Department to open the new offices as part of the patent reform bill passed last year.

The purpose of the new offices is to help Commerce recruit more talented technical experts from around the country to work on patent applications. Acting Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank and David Kappos, director of the Patent and Trademark Office, will travel to each of the selected cities next week.

—Updated at 12:50 p.m.

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