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AnonymousInactivePitney Bowes Inc.,
by
donating some of its patents to an effort to improve the environment,
is giving new meaning to the adage that one man’s junk is another man’s
treasure.Companies
normally guard their technological innovations. But concerns about the
environment are prompting some multinational companies, such as Pitney
Bowes, to recycle intellectual property through a program called the
Eco-Patent Commons. The companies hope granting free access to some of
their intellectual property will advance corporate sustainability and
spur innovation to help improve the environment.Patent experts say the
success of the program, launched this year by IBM Corp. in partnership
with Pitney Bowes, Sony Corp. and Nokia Corp., will ultimately be
determined by the value of the donated technology and whether the
public can use it.The Eco-Patent Commons is much like the
open-source software movement, in which programmers around the world
freely share their computer programs.Stamford-based Pitney Bowes is
donating two patents to the initiative. One is designed to reduce the
amount of ink used or wasted in inkjet printers. The other, which dates
from 1996, has an indirect environmental benefit because it protects
electronic scales from being damaged, thereby reducing waste, according
to Paul Robbertz, Pitney Bowes’ vice president/environment, health and
safety.The donated patents will be available online and administered
through the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, a
Geneva-based group that includes about 200 of the world’s biggest
companies.A representative from Pitney Bowes, a manufacturer of mailing
systems that employs more than 3,000 in Connecticut, will serve on the
Eco-Commons board for two years to help it get off the ground, Robbertz
said.”We’re always thinking about what we can do next to push the
envelope and reduce our environmental footprint,” said Robbertz, who
works in Shelton.Initiatives such as the Eco-Commons, which provide
access to technology without requiring individuals or businesses to pay
royalties, can be “immensely helpful” in fostering innovation if the
public finds the donated patents useful, said Hillary Greene, an
associate professor of law and director of the intellectual property
and entrepreneurship law clinic at the University of
Connecticut.”Symbolically it’s a very strong statement of commitment to
this cause or enterprise,” Greene said. “Ultimately, the value of this
enterprise in terms of its concrete impact is going to be a function of
what technology is contributed to the commons.”Regardless of
the patents donated, the commons is a mechanism to provide greater
access to technology that innovators can potentially build upon, Greene
said.
“Setting up the Eco-Patent Commons is a recognition of the
fact that patents can both promote and potentially hinder innovation,”
she said. “The thinking is that patents provide a spur to innovation,
but once the patent is granted to a particular party it then can become
a potential obstacle to subsequent innovators, and so the notion is
that innovation is not a one-time deal.”Robbertz, who helped select the
patents to donate, said he wanted to contribute waste-reduction
technology with “very broad” applications. He considers the company’s
2000 patent for an “ink-jet printer having variable maintenance
algorithm” a good example of the kind of technology that is not
constrained by geographic boundaries and could have a variety of
uses.”On its face, it might not sound too exciting,” he said. “But you
reduce the amount of ink you use, and there is a reduction of wasted
ink, and ultimately you have the reduction in the disposal of ink
cartridges or those that need to be remanufactured. When you think of
the number of people using ink cartridges and the breadth of
environmental impact associated with ink cartridges, and you get other
organizations to use this technology, it has a significant
environmental benefit.”The second patent Pitney Bowes donated is aimed
at reducing the amount of electrical equipment that’s discarded, he
said. The patented technology provides multiple overload protection for
electronic scales, but can apply to any piece of equipment that
incorporates a scale, Robbertz said.”One of the critical issues in the
developing world is the amount of electrical equipment that we have to
manage as waste, whether it’s cellphones or Blackberries,” he said.
“Anything we can do to extend the life of an electrical machine, device
or component is a positive.”Pitney Bowes does not currently use
the patents it has pledged to Eco-Commons and has not found them
“business critical,” said Angelo Chaclas, vice president and deputy
general counsel, intellectual property and technology law at Pitney
Bowes. However, the company still considers them assets worth
sharing.So far, more than 30 patents have been contributed, including
several from IBM, such as a recyclable packaging material for
electronic parts. Nokia has donated a patent for ways to recycle
cellphones into calculators and personal digital assistants.”The
Eco-Patent Commons makes us think environmentally about the design,
operation and use of a product,” Robbertz said. “It forces us to think
from an environmental perspective, as well as how efficient it is and
how it is operated.” -
AuthorFebruary 14, 2008 at 1:59 PM
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