I have sat back in awe at how quickly the U.S. can gone from a capitalist country into one that, for all intents and purposes, is on a fast track to socialism.  Do anyone ever think that the President of the United States would be not only dictating the development of new cars at Chrysler and GM.  While the U.S. Government has taken over two of the three largest automakers, the French government is busy selling off companies that were previously nationalized.  Soon, the U.S. government will own a larger share of GM than France owns of Renault.  (Of course, one has to ask why all of this was necessary since GM is ending up in bankruptcy anyway.  The only difference is that instead of the bond holders and secured creditors getting most of the company, control will now be with Pres. Obama and the Unions).

I have been surprised by the lack of outrage in the American public.  The government bails out some companies while allowing others to fail.  I guess it all depends on who your friends are - Just ask Hank Paulson. 

You know it has hit rock bottom when Pravda Online, a take off of the former Official Paper of the Soviet Central Committee is mocking the U.S. In American Capitalism Gone With A Whimper the former comrades mock the U.S. for its run toward the failed policies of socialism. 

In case anyone forgot, we fought a war two hundred and thirty three years to get rid of excessive government interference in our lives.  It is apparent that the Founding Fathers had no greater fear than the power of government and went to great lengths to limit the ability of the government to control the lives of U.S. citizens.  Now it is hard to find one of the bill of rights that the government does not violate on a routine basis.  

So the real question, do American want a land of opportunity or a land where the government controls everything.  If we do not speak up for one we will surely get the other. 

        

Today we held the Utah Genius awards honoring a large number of Utah geniuses.  There are many definitions of genius.  The one I like the best is "an individual who successfully applies a previously unknown technique in the production of a work of art, science, or calculation, or who masters and personalizes a known technique."  The people and companies we honored today have shown their exceptional capacity by obtaining a large number of patents in a single year (5 were required to make the top 20) or creation of new products as shown by their trademark registrations.  A full list of winners will be up soon on utahgenius.com. 

I just want to thank the people at my firm.  It is a challenge doing an award ceremony where the honorees do not put in for the award.  With this being our first year, we had to convince a number of inventors and companies that we were not trying to sell them anything.  It took many calls to track down the fifty-seven honorees for this year's event and get photographs and other information needed.  

It was also a challenge getting everything ready for the nearly 300 attendees at the luncheon, but we were rewarded by the caliber of people who showed up.  The best part of the program was when Dinesh Patel received a standing ovation when awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award.   In his typical humble style, Dr. Patel doubted whether he qualified for the award.  If he doesn't, we are in trouble, because I cannot think of anyone more qualified to be called a Utah Genius.

It has been a fun ride and we hope next year's program will be even better.

        

OK, patenees are not the only smart people, but here are the cities with the most patents per capita:

Alpine
Fruit Heights
Hyde Park
Lindon
Park City

The top cities by the number of patents are:

Draper
Orem
Provo
Salt Lake
Sandy
Spanish Fork

These are in alphabetical order.  To find out how the rank, come to Utah Genius, Tuesday, May 12, 2009 at the Grand America.

        

It is hard to believe that Utah Genius is now less than two weeks away.  When I conceived of the idea I wanted to award those who had been prolific with their creativity.  I had no idea how much their was to do to run an awards program with 50 honorees.  While it was much more than expected, it has been a great learning experience.  Starting a new program on a year when everyone's advertising budget has vaporized made it a challenge, but we have been able to find great sponsors who believe in the program as much as we do.

We hope to see you at Utah Genius at the Grand America, May 12, 2009 at 12:15 pm.  For more information see www.utahgenius.com.

        

One of the good things about a bad economy is that it often results in better service.  When work is abundant, it is easy to justify letting things slip through the cracks.  However, when times are tight, it makes no sense to let customers walk away.

As part of our marketing efforts for Utah Genius, we called several radio stations to see about running some ads.  We have never done radio before, but thought it might reach a broader audience.  One station got back to us after a few calls.  two others have not called back after three calls over the last week.  While they are running ads on their stations promoting radio advertising, they lost a potential sale by failing to follow-up.

Fortunately for us, KUER and KEUD heard about our program and decided to come on as sponsors.  We think they will be a great addition and will reach audiences that might not have been reached through our other advertising methods.  In a down economy, it makes no sense to let potential business get away because you cannot be bothered to return the calls.  Now is a time to refocus on customer service

        

While he is a cornerstone of the Utah entrepreneural community, it is not often that you hear Dr. Dinesh Patel speak.  Check out his views on Utah Genius and funding new companies and the Utah economy as a whole at www.utahgenius.com 

        

While our government is spending at an astonishing rate, who should be surprised that we have to have the Federal government spend more money to expand volunteering.  Sen. Kennedy and our own Sen. Hatch have pushed throught a bill to spend $5.7 Billion to expand or create national service programs.

Is there really a lack of service opportunities?  If you talk to your local church or synogoge, the Boys and Girls Club, local homeless shelters, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, the local Rotary, Lions, Kiwanis, Exchange or other club, you will find a host of opportunities to serve.  Moreover, I cannot think of a single charity, local or national, that will not have things you can help with.

So why do we need the Federal Government to spend $5.7 Billion it does not have.  Look at the number of "service" jobs the bill creates (ie. adding 175,000 to AmeriCorps).  Those are pretty expensive "volunteer" positions.  Maybe we should volunteer to help our communities, not because the Government is paying for us to do so.

        

Few would argue with the proposition that Dr. Dinesh Patel is a Utah Genius.  It is therefore fitting that Dr. Patel should be the inaugural honoree of the Utah Genius Lifetime Achievement Award.  During Dr. Patel's career he has been:

Founding managing director of vSpring Capital;
CEO at Inflabloc Pharmaceuticals;
Founder, Chairman, President and CEO of Ashni Naturaceuticals;
Co-Founder, Chairman of the Board, President and CEO of TheraTech, Inc.

Dr. Patel has also been a champion of Utah's technology community and serves as Chairman of USTAR.

Dr. Patel has 15 US patents and many more foreign patents.  He is an outstanding example of a Utah Genius and will be a deserving honoree at the luncheon at the Grand America Hotel on May 12, 2009.  For more information check out www.utahgenius.com.

        

Good News, the Utah Genius awards will be held on May 12, 2009 at the Grand America Hotel.  We had originally scheduled the Little America.  However, they have received authorization to proceed with a major renovation and asked if we would be kind enough to move accross the street to the Grand America.  Those who have attended events at the Grand America will realize that it did not take a lot of arm twisting to get us to agree.  We hope to see you there on May 12, 2009.

        

One of the best things about being a patent attorney is getting to see the cool inventions that people come up with.  From high tech to low tech, every day someone is coming up with a product or process that will make our lives better.

Last year Michael Horito and the gang at Rocketship started Invented In Utah.  This year there was over 100 applicants which was narrowed to five finalists through a couple rounds of judging.  The awards luncheon was held today, with the attendees selecting the three winners.  Here are the top five.

Veritract Smart Feeding Tube is an advancement in the placement of nasoenteric feeding tubes (i.e. feeding tubes that go through the nose and into the stomach).  Traditionally, placing the tube has been a difficult task and there is always the risk that the tube will accidentally enter the lung.  Veritract allows the health care provider to place the tube more precisely, reducing time and saving money.

Syringe Cap is a novel cap for children's medicine which allows the proper dose to be measured every time and delivered to the child without the use of a separate syringe or eyedropper.  Less mess and you never lose the syringe.

Ogwa presented their pressurized hydration packs.  Trying to such water from a bag while you are biking or running - well it sucks.  Ogwa solves the problem.

Troutberry Dough Bait Press - If you have ever had Powerbait within 20 feet of a child, you know what will happen next.   Yep, it is guaranteed to be on their hands, their clothes and eventually the interior of your car.  Troutberry provides a simple little device which allows you to bait your hook without every having to touch the bait.  This is one of those classic low tech inventions that makes you want to hit yourself and say "why didn't I think of that."   It will quickly become a must have of anyone using Powerbait.

Directional Teleprompter - Everyone who follows politics realizes the teleprompter snafus are becoming common place.  Directional Teleprompter provides a teleprompter that is much more visible to the speaker without the audience being able to read along.  While it is an improvement over teleprompters in a conventional setting, the amazing thing is how readable it is out doors in broad daylight. 

And the winners were:

No. 3 - Syringe Cap

No. 2 - Ogwa

No. 1 - Veritract

between the three of them they walked away with over $65,000 in services from the sponsors.

Congratulations to all.