AURORA | While the metro area’s new United States Patent and Trademark Office is about two years from opening, hiring of 100 new patent examiners for the office could start in a few months, federal officials said Thursday.
During a visit to the Anschutz Medical Campus, Acting U.S. Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank and Patent and Trademark Office Director David Kappos said the office will bring at least 100 patent examiner jobs to the area.
Kappos said the hiring process hasn’t started yet, but it could start within three months and could be finished within a year.
That’s well before federal officials decide exactly where the metro area’s patent office will be.
Blank said that process will get started in a few weeks and federal officials hope to have a site chosen by this time next year.
Officials will consider several different locations, she said, and the process will likely be highly competitive.
“I’m sure there will be a good number of bids that are put in from a whole variety of communities,” she said.
The Commerce department announced last week that the metro area was chosen along with Dallas and San Jose to be the home of a new satellite patent office.