Press Releases

SALT LAKE CITY - Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione, one of the largest intellectual property law firms in the U.S., is pleased to announce that attorney Steven P. Shurtz, managing shareholder of the firm's Salt Lake City, Utah, office, has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Utah Science and Mathematics Education Consortium.

The Utah Science and Mathematics Education Consortium was created by the Utah Board of Regents based on a proposal by the Deans of the Colleges of Science at the State Institutions of Higher Learning. Its purpose is to initiate, facilitate and promote programs that impact math and science education in the public schools and institutions of higher education statewide. The goal of the organization is to increase the state's capacity to meet 21st century workforce needs in scientific and technological fields and to insure a functioning level of mathematical and scientific literacy among all residents in the state of Utah.

"I am pleased to be a part of this important group of dedicated educators, scientists, engineers and business people," said Mr. Shurtz. "I am a product of Utah schools; I have children attending Utah public schools and I am proud of my two daughters who are math teachers in Utah schools. It is critical that we continue to build math, science and technology skills that will benefit both individuals, the communities in which they live and work, and our society."

Mr. Shurtz specializes in U.S. patent application preparation and prosecution, foreign patent prosecution, patent opinion and counseling. He is experienced in supervising patent procurement activities, including foreign patent strategies, oppositions and the use of the Patent Cooperation Treaty and regional patent offices, as well as preparing and prosecuting patent applications on individual chemical and mechanical inventions, including appeals to the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences.

Mr. Shurtz is a member of the American Bar Association, Section on Patent, Trademark & Copyright Law and the Intellectual Property Law Committee 102 (International Patent Laws & Treaties). He is also a member of the American Intellectual Property Law Association, International and Foreign Law Committee, the Utah State Bar Association, Intellectual Property Law Section, and the J. Reuben Clark Law Society.

Mr. Shurtz received his law degree, Order of the Coif, from the University of Utah, S.J. Quinney College of Law, and his B.S. degree in chemical engineering, magna cum laude, from the University of Utah.

Mr. Shurtz can be reached at sshurtz@brinkshofer.com.

Founded in 1917, Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione is based in Chicago with five additional offices across the country serving the intellectual property needs of clients from around the world. The firm is one of the largest IP law firms in the country, with more than 180 attorneys, scientific advisors and patent agents specializing in intellectual property litigation and all aspects of patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, unfair competition, intellectual asset management, and technology and licensing agreements. Brinks routinely handles assignments in fields as diverse as electrical, chemical, mechanical, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, nanotechnology, Internet and computer technology, as well as in trademarks and brand names for a wide variety of products and services.