One out of 10 U.S. patents issued — the most of any region — are granted to Silicon Valley firms, yet for years entrepreneurs had to travel to Alexandria, Va., to make the case for patent protection of original and economically beneficial ideas. The opening of the Silicon Valley U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in a wing of the San Jose City Hall on Thursday recognizes the importance of having a permanent place devoted to sharing ideas and shaping federal regulatory oversight of innovation here.

One might wonder why it took so long for a place synonymous with innovation to have its own patent office. A local office is useful to the big-name companies but it is crucial to small startups that lack resources to travel across country to file for a patent. Congress recognized that need in 2011 by granting funds for four new offices. It opened a small temporary office in 2013 in Palo Alto, and planned for permanent digs by late 2014. Then the federal budget-cutting effort known as sequestration struck.

Thursday’s grand opening of a 35,000-square-foot office, with 80 patent examiners and 20 patent judges to hear disputes, recognizes the role of patents in evolving the U.S. economy. It will showcase inventions and inventors; its presence is about aspiration as much as administration.