The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced it will be opening a community engagement office on North Carolina State University’s Centennial Campus to further the agency’s outreach efforts in the Southeast. It will be the first USPTO community engagement office in North Carolina.

USPTO’s community engagement offices provide convenient access to IP education and outreach for individual inventors, small businesses, veterans, low-income populations, students, and rural populations to engage stakeholders earlier in the application process. In addition to patent filing assistance, the NC State Community Engagement Office will assist entrepreneurs and small businesses with information about federal trademark registration.

“NC State has a long history of fostering innovation and entrepreneurship, and we are proud to welcome the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to Centennial Campus,” said NC State Chancellor Kevin Howell. “The new community engagement office will expand opportunities for inventors, researchers, students, and industry partners to collaborate and bring new discoveries to market, helping solve real-world challenges.”

More information is available in the USPTO’s official announcement.