If you’re still wondering how the sequester might be putting some drag on the California economy, you could look in the Silicon Valley. Mandatory budget cuts are slowing the roll of a patent office which was scheduled to open in the state’s innovation capital this year. But luckily there’s legislation out there to stop the sequester from taking a bite out of Silicon Valley’s entrpreneurial machine.

“It’s counter productive and it doesn’t just hurt us because we’re missing 100 or 150 jobs at the patent office, it could be much more,” said Emily Lam, senior director of health care and federal issues at the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, where she has helped spearhead the patent office application and planning process. “In an era where the economic recovery is so delicate, the new office will help grease wheels of innovation.”

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