Time Warner vs Orc
Time Warner vs ORC
Optical Recording Corporation (ORC) was established in 1984 with the main purpose of capitalizing on the technological innovation of James T. Russell. Russell’s new technology was based on his recent invention that revolutionized recorded music storage devices. Although Russell was not the first to come up with the concept of the Compact Disk (CD), he was among the first people to patent this technology. By 1985, Russell held over 25 patents in 7 countries across the world to various technologies related to optical recording and playback. Russell's intellectual property was purchased by ORC in Toronto in 1985, the firm then proceeded to notify a number of CD manufacturers that their CD technology was infringing on patents held by ORC. In 1987, ORC signed an agreement with Sony allowing them to license with other companies and use of ORCs CD technology in return for royalties and licensing fees. ORC continued negotiation process with other companies interested in or involved in CD/CD player production. A large CD manufacturer, now called Time Warner, objected to infringement claims presented, and was then sued by ORC in 1992.
The CD industry in late 1980’s to early 1990’s was comprised of a number of companies across the world. One of the major reasons that contributed to the development of rivalry among the CD manufacturers was high profitability of the market and projected growth. As a technological breakthroughs for many companies, CD technology was a very high yield and low risk investment. The following trend explains the high priority of CD technology during legal negotiations described later in the research. The main purpose of the following report is to analyze and discuss legal and managerial decisions of John Adamson in regards to securing ORC’s legal right to the CD technology. In addition, this paper will provide an overview of business and legal techniques that could have potentially improved business standing of ORC.
Optical Recording Corporation (ORC) was established in 1984 with the main purpose of capitalizing on the technological innovation of James T. Russell. Russell’s new technology was based on his recent invention that revolutionized recorded music storage devices. Although Russell was not the first to come up with the concept of the Compact Disk (CD), he was among the first people to patent this technology. By 1985, Russell held over 25 patents in 7 countries across the world to various technologies related to optical recording and playback. Russell's intellectual property was purchased by ORC in Toronto in 1985, the firm then proceeded to notify a number of CD manufacturers that their CD technology was infringing on patents held by ORC. In 1987, ORC signed an agreement with Sony allowing them to license with other companies and use of ORCs CD technology in return for royalties and licensing fees. ORC continued negotiation process with other companies interested in or involved in CD/CD player production. A large CD manufacturer, now called Time Warner, objected to infringement claims presented, and was then sued by ORC in 1992.
The CD industry in late 1980’s to early 1990’s was comprised of a number of companies across the world. One of the major reasons that contributed to the development of rivalry among the CD manufacturers was high profitability of the market and projected growth. As a technological breakthroughs for many companies, CD technology was a very high yield and low risk investment. The following trend explains the high priority of CD technology during legal negotiations described later in the research. The main purpose of the following report is to analyze and discuss legal and managerial decisions of John Adamson in regards to securing ORC’s legal right to the CD technology. In addition, this paper will provide an overview of business and legal techniques that could have potentially improved business standing of ORC.