On the recordMarch 7, 2011
There really are a number of objective reasons for choosing Denver. First, opening an office in Colorado will permit USPTO to recruit and hire from a pool of the best candidates the U.S. has to offer. Colorado is home to a great number of technology workers who would be excellent long-term patent examiners for an office located in Colorado. The technology workforce in Colorado is consistently ranked in the top-10 in the U.S. in many important categories. According to a report by Pew Research, Colorado is ranked: third for percent of workers with a bachelor's degree or more; fifth for number of workers with science and engineering degrees per capita; fifth for number of scientists and engineers as a percent of the labor force; and second for number of patents per 1,000 workers. Additionally, other Federal agencies have found Colorado to be a great place to locate an office. Outside of the Washington metro area, Denver has the highest number of Federal employees per capita. Because Colorado is a very desirable place to live, locating a satellite office in Colorado would allow the USPTO to dramatically improve its ability to recruit and retain its most valuable employees.
