Preface

• Author: Donald S. Rimai
• Profession: Recently retired from Eastman Kodak, where he worked as a researcher and intellectual property manager in digital printing and adhesion science
• Pages: 9-10

Preface

For 33 years, I conducted research in digital printing at Eastman Kodak.

While this  eld was certainly chronologically mature, having been around

since Chester Carlson  rst invented xerography in the 1930s and having

been the subject of much research and development by many companies

over that period, the advent of modern digital electronics presented both

novel opportunities and challenges in this technological area.

Several years before I retired from Kodak, I was asked to transition from

the role of an independent researcher to that of an intellectual property

manager for digital printing. In that position, I was involved with generat-

ing and maintaining patents that protected Kodak’s proprietary technol-

ogy, asserting patents against allegedly infringing companies, prosecuting

patent applications, implementing cross-licensing agreements, and related

activities. During that period of time, I had the privilege of working with

world-class engineers, scientists, and technicians, as well as an outstanding

legal team comprising attorneys, patent agents, and paralegals.

 e technology advanced by Kodak’s technical team members was

highly innovative and allowed electrophotography to go from being lim-

ited to o ce copiers to its rivaling both silver halide photography and o -

set printing in quality, reliability, and speed, while being able to integrate

the capabilities of the digital era with hard-copy printing. Invention dis-

closures were submitted by the members of the technical sta and patent

applications were  led and prosecuted by the attorneys. Kodak was highly

successful in both the quantity of applications  led each year and the num-

ber of patents received. However, despite these successes, it was apparent

that there was opportunity to greatly enhance the extent and the value of

the patent portfolio by broadening the intellectual property actually cov-

ered by and increasing the assertability of the patents, while making the

patenting process less expensive and more e cient.

While addressing the need to signi cantly improve the patenting pro-

cess, two outstanding individuals were assigned to work with me. One

was attorney Roland Schindler and the other was engineer-turned-patent

agent Chris White. Both saw the need and opportunity for improvement

as I did and both were enthusiastic about trying to make the improvements

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