Earlier this year, the U.S. Patent Office announced that it would open four satellite offices across the country, in addition to its home base in Washington, D.C. Dallas, Denver, Detroit, and the Silicon Valley in California were selected, based on geographical diversity, regional economic impact, ability to recruit and retain employees, and the ability to engage the intellectual property community.
Today, the government announced that its Dallas regional office will operate out of the Terminal Annex Federal Building at 207 S. Houston St., on the southern end of Dealey Plaza. The historic Art Deco building was constructed in 1937.
David Kappos, under secretary of commerce for intellectual property and director of the USPTO, said the outpost will serve the innovation community throughout the Central Time Zone and the South.
“The Dallas-Fort Worth area is exceedingly rich in engineering talent, patent applicants, and patent grants, and boasts an above average population of potential Veteran employees,” he said. “We are already underway identifying leadership who know the unique contours of the business landscape to staff the new satellite offices.”
The General Services Administration helped select its Dallas location, the USPTO said. The Terminal Annex Federal Building provided a central location and access to public transportation; it also came in as the most affordable, met all federal regulations for leasing space, and offered a flexible move-in date. The USPTO said it’s leasing the space for “well-below market price.”
The patent office will work with GSA on interior finish it. The Dallas office will be modeled after the USPTO’s first satellite office in Detroit, which opened this past summer. The Detroit location is projected to have 100 patent examiners and 20 administrative patent judges on board by next June.
