The Denver Post

Article Launched: 5/17/2006 01:00 AM

Business

U.S. eyes patent office for Denver

Invention surge may mean jobs. Talks are in early stages, but the U.S. patent office is in a crunch. Its chief spoke with Gov. Owens Tuesday.

By Andy Vuong
Denver Post Staff Writer
Denver Post

Denver is in the running to be the first regional office of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which could bring an influx of high-paying jobs to the city.

Patent commissioner John Doll met privately Tuesday with Gov. Bill Owens and economic- development officials.

Doll told The Denver Post the talks are "very preliminary."

It's unclear how many new jobs would be located at a regional office, though the office would have "significant operations," Doll said.

On average, the office's patent examiners earn $81,850 annually, according to an agency spokeswoman.

Doll did not say when a decision would be made on the regional office. He said it might open in 2008. All of the patent office's 4,600 patent examiners now work at its headquarters in Alexandria, Va.

The patent office plans to add 1,000 jobs annually over the next five years to help handle a backlog of nearly 1 million patent applications, Doll said before a speech at the Phipps Tennis Pavilion in Denver.

Colorado is a beautiful state that has "a great number of highly qualified job candidates," Doll said.

Doll said Colorado is the first state he has had talks with about the office. He said he also plans to speak with other states.

"We'd like to have a regional office here, obviously, and think it makes sense," said Brian Vogt, director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade.

The patent office is also in discussions to create an intellectual-property program at the University of Denver, Doll said.

Colorado officials contacted Doll about the regional office after hearing him speak at various forums about the agency's job growth, said Jonita LeRoy, who works with Vogt. The state wanted to make sure "we're first in line," LeRoy said.

Colorado is fertile ground for inventors, and having a local patent office would help give them credibility, said Rita Crompton, an Aurora-based entrepreneur who organizes a monthly inventors roundtable.

Colorado ranks among the top 10 states in patents awarded per capita, according to patent-office and census data. In 2005, residents in the state received 1,972 patents.

Doll's speech Tuesday was sponsored by DU's Daniels College of Business and the DaVinci Institute, a Louisville futurist think tank.

Doll said the office will review an estimated 415,000 patent applications in fiscal 2006, an 8 percent increase over 2005. A patent application sits around for more than two years, on average, before it is reviewed. Some wait as long as 10 years, Doll said.

"These numbers are extremely high," he said. "These are issues we are addressing now."

He said the patent office is working on implementing an accelerated examination process that guarantees applications will be reviewed within 12 months.