Holland & Hart is pleased to announce that Salt Lake City patent attorney Phil Harris received a 2020 Patent Pro Bono Achievement Certificate from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), which recognizes individuals and law firms that assist financially under-resourced inventors and small businesses seeking patents.
This recognition is presented to all registered patent practitioners who have contributed at least 50 hours of pro bono service through one of the regional Patent Pro Bono Programs in a calendar year. Phil was recognized for his support of the Pro Bono Patent (ProBoPat) program provided by Mi Casa Resource Center. Since 2013, Holland & Hart has assisted many inventors through the ProBoPat program.
Phil has been involved with the ProBoPat program for the last 5 years and is among those recognized for helping make the ProBoPat program available to financially under-resourced inventors and small businesses. He regularly handles pro bono work and was recognized this year for his contributions working with surface and augmented reality implementations, among other areas.
“Through the ProBoPat program, I assist inventors with limited access to resources in pursuing patents for their big ideas,” said Phil. “Increasing the accessibility of patent prosecution services in the Salt Lake City and the Silicon Slopes community is rewarding and impactful. Additionally, I enjoy the opportunity to educate and aid others in pursuing patent protection that may otherwise, unfortunately, be out of their reach.”
Phil focuses his practice on preparing and prosecuting U.S. and foreign patent applications within the electrical engineering and mechanical arts, and contesting intellectual property disputes. He prepares validity, infringement, freedom-to-operate, and patentability opinions, and brings substantial experience drafting petitions and replies, patent applications, invention disclosures, expert declarations, and related documents for ex parte and inter partes disputes at the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
In 2020, other Holland & Hart patent practitioners who supported the ProBoPat program included Rachel Carnaggio, Jake Divkovic, Per Larsen, Matt Montgomery, Nathan Mutter, and Dick Schulze, who each helped inventors in the Mountain West region prepare and file their patent applications.
The ProBoPat program connects low-income inventors with patent practitioners for patent preparation and prosecution legal services on a pro bono basis as well as provides access to business consulting and training for bringing new ideas to market. Eligible applicants are residents of Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, or Wyoming who have an annual income of three times the federal poverty guidelines or less and who, in ProBoPat’s sole discretion, would benefit from the program.
The USPTO’s Patent Pro Bono Program is a nationwide network of independently operated regional programs that match volunteer practitioners with financially under-resourced inventors and small businesses for the purpose of securing patent protection. Each regional program provides services for residents of one or more states.