600,000th patent goes to Utah firm

The U.S. Patent Office awarded its 600,000th design patent on Wednesday — and it went to a Utah company,

Spanish Fork-based Goal Zero, a subsidiary of Provo Craft and Novelty, was given Patent No. 600,000 for a battery system that works with a solar briefcase to recharge the system.

The Patent Office held a ceremony at its campus in Alexandria, Va., to mark the milestone, where Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property David Kappos presented the patent to company officials.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, also spoke, and applauded Goal Zero and Provo Craft and Novelty as fine examples of small businesses that he said provide 70 percent of all jobs in America.

"I think these two companies admirably reflect on the tremendously skilled, entrepreneurial and high-tech work force that is increasingly making Utah the place to do business," Hatch said.

He also used the ceremony to renew his call in recent years to overhaul what he says is an outmoded patent system that hasn't seen significant changes since 1932.

"If we are going to maintain our position at the forefront of the world's economy and continue to lead the globe in innovation, then we must have an efficient and streamlined patent system," Hatch said.

— Lee Davidson