SATELLITE OFFICES.

SEC. 103. SATELLITE OFFICES.(a) Amendments to Purpose and Required Considerations.—Section 23 of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (35 U.S.C. 1 note) is amended—(1) in subsection (b)—(A) in paragraph (1)—(i) by striking “increase outreach activities to”; and (ii) by inserting after “Office” the following: “, including by increasing outreach activities, including to individual inventors, small businesses, veterans, low-income populations, students, rural populations, and any geographic group of innovators that the Director may determine to be underrepresented in patent filings”; and (B) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:“(2) enhance patent examiner and administrative patent judge retention, including patent examiners and administrative patent judges from economically, geographically, and demographically diverse backgrounds;” ; and (2) in subsection (c)(1)—(A) in subparagraph (D), by striking “and” at the end; (B) in subparagraph (E), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and (C) by adding at the end the following:“(F) with respect to each office established after January 1, 2023, shall consider the proximity of the office to anchor institutions (such as hospitals primarily serving veterans and institutions of higher education), individual inventors, small businesses, veterans, low-income populations, students, rural populations, and any geographic 136 STAT. 5519 group of innovators that the Director may determine to be underrepresented in patent filings.” . (b) Southeast Regional Office.—(1) In general.—Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall establish a satellite office of the Office in the southeast region of the United States. (2) Considerations.—When selecting a site for the office required under paragraph (1), the Director shall consider the following:(A) The number of patent-intensive industries located near the site. (B) How many research-intensive institutions, including institutions of higher education, are located near the site. (C) The State and local government legal and business frameworks that support intellectual property-intensive industries located near the site. (c) Study on Additional Satellite Offices.—Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall complete a study to determine whether additional satellite offices of the Office are necessary to—(1) achieve the purposes described in section 23(b) of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (35 U.S.C. 1 note), as amended by this section; and (2) increase participation in the patent system by individual inventors, small businesses, veterans, low-income populations, students, rural populations, and any geographic group of innovators that the Director may determine to be underrepresented in patent filings.