[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 207 (Wednesday, October 29, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48793-48794]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-19695]
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Notices
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Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 207 / Wednesday, October 29, 2025 /
Notices
[[Page 48793]]
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
[Docket No. PTO-C-2025-0348]
Request for Comments on Community Outreach Office Locations in
States Formerly Served by the Rocky Mountain Regional Outreach Office
AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, U.S. Department of
Commerce.
ACTION: Request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or
Office) is seeking information to consider regarding the selection of
locations for one or more community outreach offices (COOs) in the
eight-state area formerly serviced by the Rocky Mountain Regional
Outreach office that the USPTO was directed to establish under the
Unleashing American Innovators Act of 2022 (UAIA).
DATES: To ensure consideration, written comments must be received by 5
p.m. ET on or before November 28, 2025, and should be submitted in
accordance with the instructions in the ADDRESSES section. No public
hearing will be held.
ADDRESSES: Comments must be submitted electronically to
[email protected]. Attachments will be accepted as MICROSOFT
WORD[supreg] or ADOBE[supreg] PDF documents. To be considered, comments
must be submitted to the email box. Because comments will be made
available for public inspection, information that the submitter does
not desire to make public, such as an address or phone number, should
not be included in the comments.
If submission of comments to [email protected] is not feasible
due to a lack of access to a computer and/or the internet, please
contact the USPTO using the contact information below for special
instructions regarding how to submit comments by mail or by hand
delivery, based on the public's ability to obtain access to USPTO
facilities at the time.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chris Shipp, Chief of Staff, Office of
the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director
of the USPTO, at 571-272-8600.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Enabled by the 2011 Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA), Public
Law 112-29, the USPTO currently has regional offices that are located
in Detroit, Michigan; San Jose, California (Silicon Valley); and
Dallas, Texas; and Alexandria, Virginia. The purposes of the regional
offices (ROs), as originally defined in the AIA and amended by the
UAIA, Public Law 117-328, 107 (2022), which was signed into law as part
of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 on December 29, 2022, are
to:
RO1: Better connect patent filers and innovators with the
Office, including by increasing outreach activities to individual
innovators, 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;
RO2: Enhance patent examiner and administrative patent
judge retention, including patent examiners and administrative patent
judges from economically, geographically, and demographically diverse
backgrounds;
RO3: Improve recruitment of patent examiners;
RO4: Decrease the number of patent applications waiting
for examination; and
RO5: Improve the quality of patent examination.
The USPTO has been focused on outreach and impact, and is working
on ways to better introduce, support and assist those who may be new to
the innovation ecosystem, enabling the involvement and participation of
more individuals.
In addition to regional offices, the UAIA requires the USPTO to
establish at least four COOs within five years from enactment of the
Act (i.e., no later than December 29, 2027). The purposes of the COOs
are to:
COO1: Further achieve the purposes described above for the
ROs;
COO2: Partner with local community organizations,
institutions of higher education, research institutions, and businesses
to create tailored community-based programs that provide education
regarding the patent system and promote the career benefits of
innovation and entrepreneurship; and
COO3: Educate prospective inventors, including 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, about all public and private resources available to potential
patent applicants, including the patent pro bono program.
The Northern New England Community Outreach Office was established
in January 2025 in Durham, New Hampshire.
The USPTO is seeking information for consideration related to the
location of one or more COOs in the eight-state area formerly serviced
by the Rocky Mountain Regional Outreach Office. The eight-state area
includes: Idaho, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, North Dakota, South
Dakota, and Nebraska.
The USPTO will use quantitative metrics and criteria to evaluate
and assess the location selection for future COOs. The Office intends
to consider the following classes of data (D) at a minimum:
D1: Robust research activity and graduate level programs
of study in areas which lead to innovations, IP, and IP-intensive
companies/industries;
D2: Availability and concentration of existing
commercialization and business development resources (Innovation
Ecosystem); and
D3: Ability to support all inventors, as noted in COO3.
The USPTO welcomes input from all stakeholders on any matter that
they believe is relevant to the overall planning and design or site
selection of the USPTO COOs that will serve the eight-state area
previously served by the Rocky Mountain Regional Outreach Office.
Commenters are encouraged to address any or all of the statutory
considerations listed in the UAIA and summarized above, any other
considerations they believe the USPTO should consider, and the
questions listed below.
To be considered, comments must be submitted to
[email protected].
[[Page 48794]]
Please cite any public data that relates to or supports your responses.
If data is available but non-public, describe such data to the extent
permissible.
II. Planning and Design Considerations of New Community Outreach
Offices
With the addition of COOs to the agency's footprint, the USPTO
envisions the joint mission of the COOs to be the cultivation and
expansion of a vibrant innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem
supported by intellectual property across the United States. To
accomplish this mission, the offices will conduct broad stakeholder
engagement with innovators ranging from individual inventors to
multinational business entities; establish and leverage partnerships
and relationships to scale the USPTO's work; incentivize regional
innovation and entrepreneurship, especially in key emerging areas
(e.g., artificial intelligence (AI), quantum, and distributed ledger);
and promote full participation by innovators and entrepreneurs of all
backgrounds, including in rural areas and from our armed services, to
support U.S. innovation and job creation.
III. Specific Questions for Comment
The USPTO invites responses to the following questions:
Community Outreach Offices
1. Considering the envisioned mission described above, what
essential services--including outreach, education, and customer
service--should a COO provide to achieve the statutory purposes?
a. Should the services identified be delivered in person? Why or
why not?
b. Should the services identified be delivered virtually? Why or
why not?
2. What types of organizations should the COO seek to establish
relationships and collaborations with to better leverage and scale its
services?
3. Would there be a benefit for a COO to be co-located with other
public sector entities/services (e.g., universities)?
a. If so, please describe the added value of having a shared
location.
b. Which public sector entities/services would you suggest for the
shared location(s)?
c. If not, please describe the benefit of having a unique location
for a COO.
General Comments Regarding New Community Outreach Offices
4. What unique services should the COOs individually provide, and
how should the full range of services complement each other?
5. Considering the potential classes of data listed in Part I
above, what additional key indicators or data would support COO site
selection?
6. What other factors should the USPTO consider when planning for
the new COOs?
Location of New Community Outreach Offices
Given the statutory purposes and considerations of COOs, as
discussed in Part I, and the planning and design considerations
identified in Part II:
7. Which location is ideal for one or more community outreach
offices (COOs) in the eight-state area formerly serviced by the Rocky
Mountain Regional Outreach Office?
8. What else should the USPTO consider when determining the ideal
locations for new Community Outreach Offices?
While the Office welcomes and values all comments from the public
in response to this request, the comments submitted do not commit the
Office to any further actions related to the comments, and the Office
may not respond to any or every submitted comment. The Office
nonetheless will consider all written submissions.
Any and all decisions made regarding the future locations of the
COOs will be consistent with the criteria outlined in the UAIA and the
goals and mission of the USPTO.
John A. Squires,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of
the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2025-19695 Filed 10-28-25; 8:45 am]
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