Xerox Corporation is boosting patent filings and is expected to increase the number of
patents the company receives by more than one-third within three years.
In 2005, the company filed 60 percent more patent applications than in the prior year,
and a record number - eight - of the company's top inventors received their 50th patent.
Xerox Corporation and its joint-venture partner in Japan, Fuji Xerox Co. Ltd., together
received 643 U.S. patents in 2005, placing the Xerox patent portfolio in the top 25
companies.
Xerox Corporation alone added 446 U.S. utility patents to its extensive intellectual property portfolio.
"Our continued emphasis on innovation throughout the company is at the heart of Xerox's success," said Sophie Vandebroek, president, Xerox Innovation Group, and chief technology officer. "We are significantly increasing the number of patents Xerox files each year, and we expect to see the payoff in the next few years with a sustained higher rate of patents awarded."
"Innovation creates value for our customers, ensures Xerox's competitive advantage in the marketplace, and offers opportunities for additional revenue through licensing," said Len Parker, vice president, Xerox Engineering Center, and chief engineer. "Our entire innovation community continuously enriches our patent portfolio, but we especially honor the prolific inventors who join 78 other current and past Xerox individuals to reach the significant milestone of receiving their 50th patent last year."
They are:
- John Andrews, principal scientist in the Xerox Research Center Webster in Webster, N.Y. His milestone patent, No. 6,955,419, Ink Jet Apparatus, describes a method for mounting and electrically connecting a type of print head.
- Jeffrey Banning, principal scientist in the Xerox Office Group in Wilsonville, Ore. His 50th patent, No. 6,860,931, Phase Change Inks Containing Colorant Compounds, covers magenta dyes that could be used in future inkjet products.
- Zhigang Fan, principal scientist in the Imaging and Services Technology Center in Webster. Fan's 50th patent is No. 6,956,958, Method of Embedding Color Information in Printed Documents using Watermarking. With this method, invisible information is encoded in images to preserve color accuracy through multiple generation copies.
- Nan-Xing Hu, manager of the Imaging Materials Design and Synthesis Area in the Xerox Research Centre of Canada in Mississauga, Ontario, and Zoran Popovic, research fellow at XRCC. By coincidence, patent No. 6,841,932, for Display Devices with Organic-metal Mixed Layer, is the 50th patent for both of these prolific inventors. It extends the Xerox portfolio in the important area of organic electronic devices, where the company has made significant advances.
- James Larson, inkjet platform program manager in the Xerox Research Center Webster in Webster. Larson's milestone patent is No. 6,899,419, Phase Change Ink Image Producing Machine including an Imaging Member having a Textured Imaging Surface. The texturing improves print quality.
- Scott Silence, principal scientist in the Supplies Delivery Unit in Webster. Silence's 50th patent, No. 6,865,349, Machine Post-launch Process Optimization through Wireless Connected Customer Replaceable Unit Memory, describes a method for distributing printer and copier software updates.
- Jagdish Tandon, manager of Imaging and Sensors Competency in the Production Systems Group in Webster. His 50th patent was No. 6,975,949, Full Width Array Scanning Spectrophotometer, which describes an important image measurement device for assuring color accuracy and consistency in printers.
Xerox's investment in innovation generates a steady stream of advanced technology. In 2005 the company introduced more than 50 new products, and its products received more than 320 awards. The company holds more than 8,000 active patents and invests about 6 percent of its revenue in research, development and engineering activities.
Xerox Corporation operates research and technology centers in the United States, Canada and Europe that conduct work in color science, computing, digital imaging, work practices, electromechanical systems, novel materials and other disciplines connected to Xerox's expertise in printing and document management. The company consistently builds its inventions into business by embedding them in Xerox products and solutions, using them as the foundation of new businesses, or licensing or selling them to other entities.
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