ST. GEORGE — On Tuesday, a grand opening celebration was held at Utah Tech University on the second floor of the Holland Centennial Commons building to celebrate the designation of its library as a Patent and Trademark Resource Center.
Utah Tech University’s Library is now part of a nationwide network of libraries designated by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the second location in Utah, after the University of Utah, said Utah Tech University President Richard Williams.
“It’s a culmination of all the work that’s happened in the Atwood Innovation Plaza, starting with Wayne Provost. And many people don’t know how many hundreds of trademarks have been submitted and how many patents,” Williams said. “We have over 125 patents that have been approved. And that really preempted this new office. And so we’re excited because this is a win for our students, faculty and staff.”
Williams said the center will have the resources for intellectual property. He invited the community to check out their resource center.
“They don’t even have to leave St. George,” he said. “So this is a trailblazing day at Utah Tech University.”
As a Patent and Trademark Resource Center, Utah Tech’s library will also offer residents access to resources provided by a network of intellectual property experts. According to a news release issued by the university, this will enhance entrepreneurs’ ability to file patents and get them granted.
Services provided at the new resource center include workshops on intellectual property, an introduction to patent searching and classification, literature on various IP subjects and access to patent search databases.
The significance of patents is to protect intellectual property. And because of this, Williams said Utah Tech’s Atwood Center staff teaches students that when they create something, they need to protect it. Otherwise, those ideas could be taken by someone else.
John Burns, reference and electronic resource librarian at Utah Tech, said it is “an enormous honor” to be appointed a Patent and Trademark Resource Center. He added that the center will help anyone interested learn more about the patent and trademark process.
“This center is a gigantic leap forward for the institution,” Burns said. “Patrons of the center will have access to me to help them get started with the patent and trademark process. They can contact me to get information, getting them off and running.”
The center will help the campus and community and advance Utah Tech’s mission as a polytechnic university dedicated to providing students with career preparation and hands-on learning experiences, he said.
Burns added that Utah Tech staff and students create innovative solutions to solve problems.
The university’s graduate studies will also be housed in the same area as the Patent and Trademark Resource Center, he added. For more information, visit this website.
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