2009 marks an important year in the history of the Xerox Research Centre of Canada. In November, the United States Patent and Trademark Office assigned U.S. Patent 7,619,055 to Xerox Corporation (NYSE: XRX), the 100th patent issued to XRCC researchers in 2009.
“Over the last five years, XRCC has been cultivating and enhancing the environment for invention as part of our strategy to further increase innovation that makes a difference to our customers” said Hadi Mahabadi, vice president and centre director, XRCC. “Reaching this patent milestone in one year serves as an example of the strategy’s success and of Xerox’s continued focus on customer driven innovation.”
Established in 1974, The Xerox Research Centre of Canada conducts materials research related to Xerox consumables, which is a significant contributor to Xerox’s revenue and profits. Specifically, XRCC conducts fundamental and applied materials research in toners, inks, photoreceptors, fusers and specialty substrates to support xerographic and direct marking technologies as well as Xerox’s future businesses.
“A strong intellectual property portfolio is essential to protect this high margin business component for the corporation”, said Mahabadi. Recent efforts to increase XRCC’s intellectual property have included creation of an IP strategy committee, development of a set of tools to analyze IP opportunity areas, pursuing patent coverage for technologies close to commercialization and additional internal review of patent application claims.
The 100 patents issued in 2009, which account for more than 1 patent per researcher per year, cover both core and forward-looking technologies. To date, more than 1,300 U.S. Patents have been issued to XRCC researchers.
