* The news: Xerox was awarded 584 patents in 2007, up 31 percent from
2005.
* The background: Company is delivering on promise to boost 2005 patent awards
by one-third within three years.
* Why it matters: Inventions enable Xerox to quicken pace of digital document
system and services development, resulted in 39 new products and services in 2007.
ROCHESTER, N.Y., Jan. 14, 2008 -- Xerox Corporation (NYSE: XRX) was granted
584* U.S. utility patents in 2007, adding to its extensive intellectual property
portfolio. Many of the patents are already fueling new technologies embedded
in products and services Xerox brought to market within the last year, while
others provide the foundation for the next generation of products, services
and software. The total includes patents awarded to the Palo Alto Research Center,
a wholly owned subsidiary of Xerox Corporation.
Spanning specialties ranging from nanotechnology, controls and materials synthesis
to software systems and smart document technologies for services, the patent
total represents an increase of 31 percent over patents awarded to Xerox in
2005. At that time, Xerox announced a goal of boosting the number of patents
it was awarded by one third in three years. With a year to go, the company is
well on its way to delivering on that goal.
Xerox's joint venture partner in Japan, Fuji Xerox Co. Ltd., was awarded 317
U.S. utility patents, bringing the total for the Xerox Group to 901. Together,
Xerox and Fuji Xerox invest about $1.5 billion annually in research and development.
"Inventions are not innovations until they delight our customers. Over
the past years, Xerox has focused its extensive RD&E efforts to deliver
breakthrough innovations, which have been embedded in products and services
generating billions of dollars in recurring revenue for the company," said
Sophie Vandebroek, Xerox chief technology officer and president of the Xerox
Innovation Group. "Last year Xerox brought 39 new products and services
to market. As importantly, our inventors have laid the groundwork for many more,
some of which will expand our reach into new industries."
Among the patents granted in 2007 that may appear in future Xerox products
and services:
- U.S. Patent No. 7,225,401, which describes a system and method for generating
a custom document. This patent uses intelligent reasoning methods to help
authors create documents by suggesting similar previous documents to use as
a starting point.
- U.S. Patent No. 7,254,772, which describes systems and methods for visually
representing the aging or expiration of electronic documents. It could help
users manage documents by changing the appearance of screen icons to reflect
the age or expiration date of the document.
- U.S. Patent No. 7,293,868, which describes a new ink composition that could
be used in future solid ink products. Curable by ultraviolet light, it provides
a five-fold improvement in image durability while maintaining excellent image
quality and paper durability.
- U.S. Patent No. 7,184,032, which provides a simple method for accommodating
blind users by use of a Braille overlay for control screens.
- U.S. Patent No. 7,163,269, which provides a simple and systematic method
for achieving consistent color books in print-on-demand systems.
Patents granted in 2007 that are already delivering revenue include:
* U.S. Patent No. 7,295,346, which describes a new image processing method
used in the Xerox iGen3™ Digital Production Press, the DocuColor™
8000 press and other Xerox color printers. It has improved sharpness and image
quality for gray or colored fonts and graphics. Last year more than 40 billion
pages were made on Xerox color systems.
* U.S. Patent No. 7,157,200, which describes an emulsion aggregation toner and
developer with superior image quality. The toner covered in this patent is used
in the Nuvera™ EA Digital Production System and provides lower cost, improved
reliability, better image quality, and better paper flatness.
Xerox Corporation is the world's leading document management, technology and
services enterprise, providing the industry's broadest portfolio of color and
black-and-white document processing systems and related supplies, as well as
document management consulting and outsourcing services. This past year Xerox
was awarded the National Medal of Technology, the highest technology award in
the United States. For more information, visit www.xerox.com/innovation.
-XXX-
Note: *Patent totals are preliminary in anticipation of the official U.S. Patent
and Trademark Office reports and represent utility patents issued to Xerox Corporation
or its wholly owned subsidiaries during the 2007 calendar year.
|