Traverse City Record-Eagle

Business

July 12, 2012

Business in Brief: 07/12/2012

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ----

Detroit patent office set for opening

DETROIT — The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is preparing to open a satellite location in Detroit.

A ribbon cutting is planned for Friday for the office, with acting U.S. Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank in attendance. The Detroit location is the office's first such facility outside Washington, D.C. The federal government is planning satellite offices in some other states.

Ahead of the opening, the Patent and Trademark Office plans to host a panel discussion Wednesday. The event will focus on the evolution of and current key issues in intellectual property.

The Detroit office at the Stroh River Place building will occupy space previously filled by a regional office of the U.S. Census Bureau.

The government says the aim is to streamline the patent filing process and encourage innovation by Detroit-area area businesses.

Food stamp probe snags 3 in Flint area

FLINT — Three people in the Flint area are accused of using food stamp cards to buy supplies for their restaurants and catering businesses.

Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton says the three are accused of paying cash to food stamp recipients in exchange for using their debit-style cards at stores. He says the fraud added up to tens of thousands of dollars over a seven-month period.

Paul Verdun, Reginald Clements and Beverly Biggs-Leavy appeared in court this week and were released on bond. The lawyer for Biggs-Leavy declined to comment. The names of the attorneys for Clements and Verdun aren't listed on the electronic court file.

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