The U.S. Department of Commerce is expected to announce Monday that it is opening a new U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in the Denver area, a move designed to ease a backlog of pending patents nationally.

"This is a well-deserved victory for the state of Colorado," Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., in response to the pending announcement. "This tremendous news affirms what we already know about our state – that we are leaders in innovation, technological development, and economic growth."

Bennet, echoing the sentiments of a wide range of Colorado business interests, said the new office will provide a boost to the bioscience, clean energy and aerospace fields, among others.

Bennet gave special credit to patent attorney John Posthumus in helping "make this a reality."

A report compiled by Posthumus, Bennet's office and others estimated a satellite office in Denver would lead to economic activity totaling $440 million over the first five years of operation.

Bennet and his fellow Colorado Democrat in the Senate, Mark Udall, co-sponsored an amendment that empowered the U.S. Patent office to establish three new satellite patent offices across the country over the next three years.

According to the Sunday edition of the Denver Post, the other two metro areas chosen are Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, and San Jose, Calif.

The Post reported that documents it obtained revealed federal officials were drawn to Denver because of its relatively low cost of living and high quality of life — a combination that makes it easy to recruit top talent.

The Patent and Trademark Office, which is based in Virginia, has a backlog of 620,000 pending patents. It receives some 500,000 new applications each year, an overwhelming number that means it takes three years to get a patent approved.