MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Xerox pulls the plug on e-paper

rmeister0 · 12-22-2005, 10:49 AM

Well, Xerox does not exactly have a stellar history of turning research projects into marketable products in the last 3 decades.

I predict some exec plans to sit back, watch the e-ink market unfold, then pounce on the competitors with patent lawsuits to get a piece of the action. It's easier than trying to build a market of your own. Particularly with this statement: "Xerox will maintain ownership of all electronic paper intellectual property developed by Gyricon or Xerox..."

I suspect it's mostly a matter of timing. Building markets for seriously new stuff takes time, and patience appears to be seriously lacking in the business environment today. Most overnight success stories have one to two decades of serious r&d behind them.

12-22-2005, 10:49 AM	#4
rmeister0 Addict Posts: 270 Karma: 298 Join Date: Mar 2005	Well, Xerox does not exactly have a stellar history of turning research projects into marketable products in the last 3 decades. I predict some exec plans to sit back, watch the e-ink market unfold, then pounce on the competitors with patent lawsuits to get a piece of the action. It's easier than trying to build a market of your own. Particularly with this statement: "Xerox will maintain ownership of all electronic paper intellectual property developed by Gyricon or Xerox..." I suspect it's mostly a matter of timing. Building markets for seriously new stuff takes time, and patience appears to be seriously lacking in the business environment today. Most overnight success stories have one to two decades of serious r&d behind them.