Granting patents in Silicon Valley looks really expensive. More expensive than San Jose was planning on.
The much-cheered opening of a branch of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in San Jose City Hall has been delayed until at least mid-2015.
Local leaders have blanched at the estimated $4.7 million price tag, according to the San Jose Mercury News, after it took nearly four years of cajoling and political begging to land the patent office.
The extra cost includes the requirement for San Jose to rent extra space to house its own workers due to all the space the patent judges and examiners would require at City Hall, the newspaper reported.
As it is, San Jose is poised to approve extra "incentives" to attract the patent office to the location, which is an undeveloped "shell" city leaders couldn't "give away"' to other companies, the newspaper reported.
Still, the increased costs are worth it, according to Mayor Chuck Reed.
Without them, the patent office could go to Mountain View.
