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The US Patent and Trademark Office
(“USPTO”) has been busy resolving difficulties with the planned move to the
Carlyle Development in Alexandria, Virginia. The new location is within three (3)
blocks of Pravel Intellectual Property Law and adjacent the King Street Metro
Station. It will comprise 15 acres and include five office buildings and two parking
garages.
The move is scheduled to take place within the next
several years, but it has not been easy to overcome the challenges that have been
presented by Charles E. Smith, the current Crystal City Landlord. The move was first
challenged on the grounds that the USPTO violated the Federal Service Labor-Management
Relations Statute (“FLRA”) with regard to the issuance by the General Services
Administration of a Solicitation for Offers (SFO) for PTO's space consolidation. The
Federal Labor Relations Authority concluded that the USPTO did not violate the FLRA.
Charles E. Smith then challenged the relocation in the District Court for the District of
Columbia on the grounds that the USPTO did not comply with environmental regulations. The
case was dismissed and Charles E. Smith appealed. The decision by the 4th
Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the District Court decision.
The USPTO relocation then had to be approved by the
Alexandria Planning Commission and the Alexandria City Counsel. It now appears that
the move will take place within the next several years.
See USPTO web site for more
details concerning this upcoming relocation.
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