U.S. Patent office setting up regional presence in Atlanta

City was chosen because of its diversity, resources.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is setting up a new Southeastern regional presence in Atlanta, a feather in the city’s cap as it works to become one of the top innovation hubs in the country.

Currently, Georgia innova- tors have to go to the USPTO headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, for services. But the new Atlanta office will now offer them the same services as its regional counterparts in Dallas, Denver, Detroit and San Jose, like access to patent and other federal small busi- ness and industry experts, dedicated workstations to search existing patents and trademarks, trainings, work- shops and other programs for STEM education.

The decision to bring a regional office to Atlanta was based on a variety of fac- tors: the region’s growing and diverse economy federal and private resources for start- ups, multiple research-intensive universities, the Veter- ans Administration research hospital and the Centers for Disease Control and Preven- tion, the USPTO announced last week.

Another criteria for the new office is that it be close to inventors, smal businesses and groups that are under- represented in patent filings, according to the announce- ment.

Officials alsolooked at the intellectual property-inten- sive industries in the region, like the growing entertainment production sectors. Thegrowth has come in part because of Georgia’s generous film tax credit, though a new state audit has found it cre

ated fewer jobs than boost- ers have touted.

The new USPTO regional office has drawn praise from local and national Georgia leaders, among them U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-4th District, the ranking mem- ber of the Judiciary Subcom- mittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet. In a statement, he said that for years, he has “reminded the world that Atlanta is not just a hub for culture and creativ- ity, but also for technology and innovation.”

Over the past several years, Atlanta has slowl grown its stature as an innovation hub. Google has invested millions in the state as it has expanded its operations, culminating in a 500,000-square foot office spanning 19 floors in a Mid- town tower.

Microsoft had also com- mitted to having a large pres- ence in the city, announcing in 2021 it had bought 90 acres in the Westside to build a new

ub for the tech giant. Earlier this year, however, itstopped work on the new site.

Metro Atlanta is home to 31 Fortune 500/1000 busi- nesses, hundreds of U.S. or North American headquarters

d more than 100 co-working spaces, incubators and accel

erators, according to the Me ro

lanta Chamber, an organization focused on making the 29-county region an attractive place for businesses.

“We are not only the region’s commercial and cultural headquarters, we are also a global nexus of innovation due in part to our strength in R&D and Ip-intensive industries,” Katie Kirkpatrick, president and CEO of the Metro Atlanta Chamber, said in a statement.

A site for the new regional patent office has not been chosen yet.

“We look forward to working with stakeholders from Georgia, including members of Congress and industry representatives, to get their input on specific locationsand services offered by our USPTO-AT

nta outreachoffice,”uspto Director Kathi Vidal said in an email.

The office is expectedto be fully operational by December 2025.

GREAT POINT STUDIOS Great Point Studios’ primary tenant at its new Douglasville TV and film studio is Lionsgate, to be known as Lionsgate Studios Atlanta. This is a rendering of the finished campus. Ventures like this studio are part of the reason the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office decided to make Atlanta the site of a new regional office.