The United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) Is Seeking Information Related To The Location of One or More Community Outreach Offices

On October 29, 2025, The United States Patent and Trademark Office (the “USPTO”) indicated, via a Federal Register Notice, that it is seeking information to consider regarding selecting locations of one or more community outreach offices in the eight-state area formerly serviced by the Rocky Mountain Regional Outreach Office.

By way of background, the USPTO currently has regional offices that are located in Detroit, Michigan; San Jose, California; Dallas Texas; and Alexandria, Virginia.

The purposes of the regional offices are to:

• better connect patent filers and innovators with the USPTO, 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 USPTO Director may determine to be underrepresented in patent filings;
• enhance patent examiner and administrative patent judge retention, including patent examiners and administrative patent judges from economically, geographically, and demographically diverse backgrounds;
• improve recruitment of patent examiners;
• decrease the number of patent applications waiting for examination; and
• improve the quality of patent examination.

In addition to regional offices, the USPTO is statutorily required to establish at least four (4) community outreach offices by December 29, 2027.

The purposes of the community outreach offices are to:

• further achieve the purposes described above for the regional offices;
• 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
• educate prospective inventors, including individual inventors, small businesses, veterans, low-income populations, students, rural populations, and any geographic group of innovators that the USPTO 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 has indicated that it is seeking information for consideration related to the location of one or more community outreach offices 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 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 community outreach office 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 community outreach office seek to establish relationships and collaborations with to better leverage and scale its services?

3. Would there be a benefit for a community outreach office 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 community outreach office.

General Comments Regarding New Community Outreach Offices

4. What unique services should the community outreach offices 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 community outreach office site selection?

6. What other factors should the USPTO consider when planning for the new community outreach offices?

Location of New Community Outreach Offices

Given the statutory purposes and considerations of community outreach offices, 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 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?

Written comments must be received by 5 p.m. Eastern Time on or before November 28, 2025 at the following email address: NewOffices@uspto.gov.