Johannesburg, 02 Feb 2010
Xerox received 706 US patents last year, a 16% increase from 2008 and a gain that places the company among the world's top 25 corporate patent recipients of 2009.
The 2009 patent tally included those from the Palo Alto Research Centre (PARC) and XMPie, wholly owned Xerox subsidiaries. Many of the 2009 Xerox patents are already fuelling new technologies embedded in recently released products, solutions and services, while others provide the foundation for the next generation of products, services and software.
“It's critical to our customers' success that Xerox continues to innovate,” says Tanya Moodley, divisional manager of group marketing at Bytes Document Solutions, authorised Xerox distributor to 27 sub-Saharan countries. “Innovation today secures the future. It is at the very core of what Xerox does. More than 2 400 employees, past and present, have been granted five or more patents - an extraordinary accomplishment."
Backed by more than 361 patents and patent applications, Xerox's new ColorQube 9200 multifunction printer is an example of Xerox's continued commitment to innovation. It uses cartridge-free solid ink technology to reduce the cost of colour pages by up to 62% and cut waste by 90%.
Xerox's joint venture in Japan, Fuji Xerox, received 425 US patents, an increase of 28% over 2008. When taken together, the Xerox group garnered 1 131 patents in total. That accomplishment pushes Xerox into the number 12 spot worldwide. Fuji Xerox patents were not included in the ranking compiled by US patent analysis firm IFI Patent Intelligence.
Xerox and Fuji Xerox collectively invest about $1.5 billion annually in research, development and engineering. The 2009 inventions covered a number of technological areas ranging from nanotechnology, and materials synthesis to control systems, software systems and smart document technologies.
Xerox has received 55 000 global patents since its inception.
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