U.S. Patent And Trademark Satellite Office To Open In Detroit, Employ 100

A long-time-in-the-making satellite branch of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has finally found a home in Detroit.

The former Stroh's brewery headquarters in Rivertown will become the Elijah J. McCoy United States Patent and Trademark Office, and should open no later than July, the PTO announced Wednesday.

The Detroit branch could create more than 100 jobs. Recruiters began searching for tech professionals this time last year, setting up a hotline for applicants. but the PTO now says it will post open positions for patent examiners this spring.

Detroit was chosen as the first non-Washington D.C. site for the PTO because of the auto industry, which is a big filer of patents, and because of the growing number of high-tech businesses in the region. Michigan's educational and research institutions are also expected to take advantage of the proximity of the new patent filing location.

U.S. Rep. John Conyers (D-Detroit), who has worked for patent reform as a member of the House Judiciary Committee, said the Detroit PTO would be a boon to the local economy.

"Not only will the office ... offer more than 100 high technology jobs, but opening the satellite office here should facilitate patent filings by thousands of Detroit area businesses," he said in a release. "It will also establish Southeast Michigan as being at the very vanguard of technology innovation."

Two other satellite patent offices are planned, but their locations have not yet been decided.