Intellectual Property Services Office now Open

Utah State University has a rich history of invention, innovation and industry partnering. USU faculty and staff continue to push the boundaries of scientific knowledge with research often leading to the development of new innovations that may benefit the scientific community.

Recently, those units designed to support intellectual property and commercial activities at Utah State University have undergone a systemic reorganization. Commercial Enterprises, housed in the office of Vice President for Commercialization and Regional Development, will support USU and Utah State University Research Foundation commercial activities by streamlining the IP protection process under a single entity.

“Commercial Enterprises will increase efficiency and improve opportunities by turning innovation into viable commercial successes,” said Robert Behunin, vice president for commercialization and regional development. “These opportunities are being leveraged for the benefit of the university community.”

Intellectual Property Services — a university unit within Commercial Enterprises — is fully dedicated to helping USU faculty and staff manage and protect intellectual property. Commercial Enterprises has hired three IP Services managers to work closely with USU and USURF researchers to identify, protect and commercialize USU intellectual property.

The newly appointed Intellectual Property Services managers who will serve the USU community are Ray DeVito, Joe Christison and Ryan Brady. Karen Boghossian, commercialization business assistant and intellectual property paralegal, will act as the Utah State University liaison to IP Services.

More about the IP Services team:

DeVito holds a doctorate in physics from Michigan State University. DeVito has held positions with Siemens Medical Systems, the Nuclear Medicine Imaging Group, Constellation Technology Corporation and USU’s Technology Commercialization office. He has led efforts to secure SBIR and other business funding mechanisms and has received awards totaling more than $4.7 million. He is a member of the American Physical Society, the Association of University Technology Managers and a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. DeVito is author of numerous scientific and technical publications in the fields of nuclear medicine, nuclear physics and radiation detection. As a member of IP Services, DeVito’s efforts will be focused on identifying and protecting intellectual property for USU and USURF physical sciences.

Christison received a doctorate in biology at the University of Oregon, where he conducted research on the mechanisms of cell fate determination involved in the development of sensory organs. He is an alumnus of the University of Oregon’s Technology Entrepreneurship Program and is a registered patent agent. Christison has spent the last two years working to identify, protect and commercialize USU discoveries in the life sciences. As a member of IP Services, Christison will continue to focus on the life sciences and will work closely with USU’s USTAR Veterinary Diagnostics and Infectious Diseases team. 

Brady joins IP Services from Baker Donelson, where he was an associate in the firm’s Washington, D.C., office. Brady is a registered patent attorney with experience as a life science researcher. His experience in patent prosecution and litigation includes: appeals, opinion work, application drafting, examiner interviews, restriction practice, sequence listings, biotech-related §112 issues, deposition preparation, document review and confidentiality agreements. He also has experience in electrical, mechanical and computer system matters. As an IP Services manager, Brady will work with USU and USURF researchers from both the physical and life sciences to identify, protect and commercialize intellectual property.

Boghossian, commercialization business assistant and intellectual property paralegal, is the Utah

State University liaison to IP Services. Boghossian’s main responsibilities include managing the USU and USURF’s Intellectual Property portfolios. Boghossian works closely with faculty researchers to steer them through the intellectual property protection process.

IP Services is on the web and Twitter. For frequently asked questions, visit Intellectual Property Services on the web. Invention disclosures may be submitted electronically through a secure site.

Faculty members wishing to discuss intellectual property protection may contact Boghossian at 435-797-9603.

Contact: Karen Boghossian, 435-797-9603, karen.boghossian@usu.edu

Writer: Jacoba Poppleton, jacoba.mendelkow@usu.edu