PRESS RELEASE Contact: Brigid Quinn 703-305-8341 January 17, 2001 #01-04

GROUND BROKEN FOR NEW USPTO HEADQUARTERS The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), in partnership with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and LCOR Alexandria, L.L.C. (LCOR), today marked the groundbreaking for USPTO's new consolidated headquarters facility in Alexandria, Virginia. "On a day many thought might never come, I am especially proud that we have reached this major milestone in our agency's history, said Q. Todd Dickinson, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of USPTO. “As a performance-based organization, this new state-of-the art headquarters facility complements our mission in a multitude of ways, and provides our highly skilled workforce with a quality of work life necessary to attract and retain the very best." For further information, please go to http://ncr.gsa.gov/NCRnews/jan17.asp.   # # #