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(j l l¡i UTAH BAR JOURNAL Vol. 7 NO.1 January 1994 r II I" ;: ~ . l l ¡'I l !i Ii I,. i~ I I, l' ~ An Intellectual Property Primer: What Every Attorney Should Know About Patents, Trademarks and Copyrights 8 How To . 'Mechanic's Lien Basics 15 Official Court Reporting: A Proposal for Bar Members' Consideration and Response 24 1J THE BREAKTHROUGH THAT MAKES WESTLAWC' THE FIRST ,RESEARCH SERVICE To UNDERSTAND PLAIN ENGLISH. It's so simple, even inexperienced users No wonder lawyers are calling WIN 'ïrØløø are getting great results the first time. "remarkable" and "incredibly accurate... 18 of Compare a search request in the Boolean lan- 20 cases WIN found were right on point." 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UTAH BAR JOURNAL Published by The Utah State Bar 645 South 200 East Vol. 7 NO.1 January 1994 Salt Lake City, Utah 841 I I Telephone (801) 531-9077 President President's Message .....................................................................4 H. James Clegg by H. James Clegg President-Elect Paul T. Moxley i Commissioner's Report ...............................................................6 Executive Director John C. Baldwin by Steven M. Kaufman Bar Journal Committee and Editorial Board An Intellectual Property Primer: What Every Editor Attorney Should Know About Patents, Calvin E. Thoipe Trademarks and Copyrights ........................... .............. ................8 Associate Editors by Bryan A. Geurts M. Karlynn Hinman William D. Holyoak Randall L. Romrell How To ... Articles Editors Mechanic's Lien Basics .............................................................15 David Brown by Darrel 1. Bostwick Christopher Burke Leland S. McCullough Jr. c! Derek Pullan State Bar News........................................................................... 17 Letters Editor Victoria Kidman Views from the Bench Editors The Barrister ..............................................................................21 Judge Michael L. Hutchings Judge Stephen VanDyke Legislative Report Editors Views from the Bench John T. Nielsen Official Court Reporting: A Proposal for Bar Barbara Wyly Members' Consideration and Re'sponse.................................... .24 Case Summaries Editors by Judge Anne M. Stirba Scott A. Hagen Clark R. Nielsen Book Review Editor Utah Bar Foundation..................................................................27 Betsy L. Ross "How to . ." Editors Brad Betebenner CLE Calendar.. ............................................................ ... ..... .... ...30 David Hartvigsen Patrick Hendrickson Classified Ads ......... ........ .... .......... ...... ......... ................ ..............32 ADREditor Cherie P. Shanteau Law and Technology Editor COVER: Winter North of Porcupine Reservoir, East of Avon, Utah (Note: bald eagle R. Bruce Findlay sitting on fence post in middle of picture), by Richard R. Medsker of Farr, Kaufman, Sullvan, Gorman, Jensen, Medsker & Perkins, Ogden, Utah. - Glen Cook David Erickson Members of the Utah Bar who are interested in having photographs published on the cover of the Utah Bar Hakeem Ishola Journal should contact Randall L. Romrell, Associate General Counsel, Huntsman Chemical Corporation, Thomas Jepperson 2000 Eagle Gate Tower, Salt Lake City, Utah, 841 i 1,532-5200. Send both the slide (or the transparency) and D. Kendall Perkins a print of each photograph you want to be considered. Artists who are interested in doing illustrations are also J. Craig Smith invited to make themselves known, Denver Snuffer The Utah Bar Journal is published monthly, except July and August, by the Utah State Bar. One copy of each Barrie Vernon issue is furnished to members as part of their State Bar dues. Subscription price to others, $30; single copies, Terry Welch $4.00. For information on advertising rates and space reservation. call or write Utah State Bar offices. Judge Homer Wilkinson Statements or opinions expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of the Utah State Bar, and publication of advertisements is not to be considered an endorsement of the product or service advertised, Committee Liaison Leslee A. Ron Copyright (g 1994 by the Utah State Bar. All rights reserved. Jaiiumy 1994 3 .. Collection Law Task Force: Where Do We Go From Here? By H. James Clegg ( J consists of collection lawyers Richard Car- necessary and enter orders commanding Respondingtion-law to practice criticism IevelIed of colIec- by two ling, Richard Walker and Kirk CulIimore respect for the judicial system, including circuit court judges, the Bar Commission (who also is chair of the ColIection Law contempt orders. determined to appoint a committee to study Section), Chief Disciplinary Counsel The Task Force recommends that stan- the practice. It was just in the formative Stephen Trost, Judges Roger Livingston and dards be enacted or modified to make it stages, with Richard Carling accepting the Roger Bean, David Challed and Jan Berge- clear that the collection lawyer has a duty position of chair. At that propitious son. Frank Wilkins sits as Bar Commission to the system as well as to the client. One moment, Channel 2 began a series of arti- Liaison. change will clarify that, while a lawyer cles on its evening news spotlighting a It is apparent that there has been an may own a collection agency, he may not lawsuit filed by a former staff attorney of a explosion of creditors' cases in the last ten represent it as counseL. Another is to for- collection agency against that agency. years or so. Whether this is proportional to bid the borrowing or sharing of personnel That suit, removed into federal court, the growth in populace of borrowing age or between a lawyer and a creditor; when a includes charges of unauthorized practice relaxation of credit guidelines, or something matter goes into suit, the file will be physi- of law by staff of a collection agency. The else, or a combination of many factors, is not cally transferred to the lawyer and staff for Bar was invited to join the suit as an inter- our task; clearing the obstacles to justice is. whose actions the lawyer is solely respon- venor or as amicus. It elected against doing So far as lawyers are concerned, the sible. Questioning of debtors shall be so because this issue is only one in a very main problem seems to be permitting credi- substantively conducted by a lawyer complex case; instead, it authorized Kipp tors to have direct access to debtors, without although a secretary or legal assistant may & Christian to file a separate suit, limited necessarily much involvement of lawyers assist with routine matters such as dis- to unauthorized practice, in Third District and judges. Judges and lawyers, through tributing and assisting with questionnaires, Court. training and ethics requirements, are held to receiving money, and so forth. The "Carling Committee" quickly standards of professionalism and regard for Judge Livingston and Judge Bean pro- became the "Carling Task Force," with personal rights. It developed that, in some vide helpfuI and constructive suggestions additional members, including Dave courts, judge is not physically present in the from the Bench's viewpoint. The system ChalIed of Legal Services and Jan Berge- courthouse for collection calendars. must accommodate with limited court son, Chairs of the Young Lawyers' It quickly became apparent that the Bar facilities and personnel, so a practical Subcommittee on Consumer Debt Abuse. could not solve the problems on its own; the result requires cooperation an dedication Both brought valuable insights, particularly Bench must take responsibility to effect a by the Bench and the Bar. Judges Liv- respecting out -of-court practices. cure by, at the least, being available to han- ingston and Bean have pledged the The Task Force as finalIy comprised dIe disputes, place debtors under oath where judiciary's help in rectifying the situation. 4 Vol. 7 No.1 On a more global scale, the Task Force ';"! perceives that greater involvement by THE LAW FIRM OF lawyers and judges may not be enough. ANDERSON & WATKINS Thirty-two states have enacted regulatory statutes governing collection agencies. IS PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT Ms. Bergeson and Mr. Challed believe that R. PAUL VAN DAM Utah should follow suit and are studying modellegislation with the idea of submit- HAS BECOME ASSOCIATED WITH THE FIRM ting it to the 1994 legislature. While the MR. VAN DAM PREVIOUSLY SERVED AS ATTORNEY GENERAL I, Task Force has not submitted final FOR THE STATE OF UTAH, AND AS SALT LAKE COUNTY ATTORNEY. recommendations, an educated guess is HE WILL SPECIALIZE IN THE AREAS OF