Business Management - Industry Trends

This is an update to my previous two articles on the growing issue of patent trolls attempting to extort funds from print service providers and OEMs by claiming patent infringement, mostly on bad patents that can easily be invalidated through Prior Art. In this article, I am providing some of the responses received to the first two articles along with advice on how to proceed should a print service provider or OEM be faced with a patent infringement claim.

In 2015, 66.8% of paper consumed in the U.S. was recovered for recycling, reports the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA). The annual paper recovery rate has nearly doubled since 1990 and the industry has set a goal to exceed 70% paper recovery for recycling by 2020. "Industry efforts, the voluntary, market-driven recovery system, and the millions of Americans who make the decision to recycle every day have helped to keep U.S. paper recovery at continuously high levels," comments AF&PA President and CEO Donna Harman.

The March 2016 Printing-Writing Paper Report from the AF&PA, reveals that shipments decreased 4% in March compared to March 2015.

The following is an update to Dr. Harvey R. Levenson’s previous article on the growing issue of patent trolls.

In a letter to Printing Industries of America members, Michael Makin, president and CEO
, warns of a major scam involving a fraudulent Canadian direct marketing agency, operating out of Montréal and Toronto. The company purports to represent clients marketing weight loss products. The United States Postal Service and law enforcement officials are investigating the matter in the U.S. and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police has been made aware as well.

Several fashion glossies are increasing their trim sizes to appeal to advertisers and become ‘collectible.’ Is it working?

Since 2003, Semper International has provided a quarterly survey offering estimates of trends in the printing and graphics industries.

The 2016 Best Workplace in the Americas competition is now accepting nominations. This competition measures success in eight key areas.

Canon Solutions America’s Experience App is a free mobile application designed to give users access to trends, product information.

At a time when the industry is searching for new growth and development opportunities, it now faces new obstacles: patent trolls.