“Closing regional offices, eliminating the ability to recruit new examiners from across the country, and disregarding legislative intent threaten to undo years of progress.”
In the America Invents Act (AIA) of 2011, Congress required the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to establish at least three regional offices nationwide. These offices were not symbolic; they were intended to expand access to patent services, recruit new examiners, and strengthen innovation ecosystems outside Washington, D.C.
In 2014, I was honored to serve as the first Director of the Rocky Mountain Regional Office, which provided inventors and small businesses across the Mountain West direct access to USPTO resources. By reducing barriers for entrepreneurs in states like Colorado, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming, the office became a vital link between the innovation community and the federal government.
Disruption and Destabilization
The Trump administration’s decision to close the Denver office undermines this congressional mandate. The official justification—citing $1 million in costs and a headcount of only 10 employees—grossly misrepresents the truth. In reality, the office served as the duty station for hundreds of examiners and judges, most working remotely but formally tied to Denver. Eliminating the office leaves these employees in limbo, uncertain about their future duty stations and career stability. Such disruption erodes morale, weakens the examiner corps and destabilizes the broader patent system.
This move cannot be separated from broader actions already weakening the USPTO. The administration has stripped more than 9,000 patent examiners of union representation, prompted an exodus of senior leaders and judges and floated replacing examiners with artificial intelligence. The Denver closure furthers this trend and signals a threat to remaining regional offices in Detroit, Dallas and San Jose. Together, these measures suggest a deliberate effort to centralize power in Washington at the expense of regional innovation.
There’s a Better Way
Responsible fiscal management and the adoption of new technologies are commendable goals, but they must not be pursued at the expense of Congress’s legislative intent or at the cost of destabilizing the agency’s workforce. During my tenure as Deputy Director of the USPTO, I reduced the agency’s budget by $500 million while still expanding access and technology resources. This experience demonstrates that fiscal discipline and innovation-supportive policies can coexist without undermining the mission Congress entrusted to the USPTO.
Instead of shutting down the Denver office, the Trump administration could have pursued far less disruptive alternatives, such as leasing a smaller footprint or sharing space with another federal agency. Such options would have preserved the USPTO’s presence in the Mountain West while addressing any legitimate budget concerns, aligning with Congress’s intent to expand access to patent resources without destabilizing the workforce or cutting off support for regional innovators.
We Should Strengthen, Not Dismantle
The consequences are severe. Communities across Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming lose direct access to the USPTO, erecting barriers Congress explicitly sought to eliminate. At the same time, the experienced examiner corps is shrinking, and the backlog of unexamined patent applications—once dramatically reduced by regional hiring—is surging once again. Instead of investing in its skilled staff, the USPTO is gambling on undeveloped automation, risking a flood of poorly examined patents that could destabilize the entire U.S. innovation system.
Congress has long recognized, on a bipartisan basis, that strong patent examination is central to economic growth. Closing regional offices, eliminating the ability to recruit new examiners from across the country, and disregarding legislative intent threaten to undo years of progress. The USPTO should strengthen, not dismantle, its regional presence if it hopes to preserve the integrity of the patent system and support America’s inventors. Congress should reverse the administration’s decision and safeguard the remaining regional offices.
Image Source: Deposit Photos
Author: iqoncept
Image ID: 81429376
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