Underscores the company's 80-plus year history of innovation

STAMFORD, Conn., Jan. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE: PBI) today announced that inventor Ronald Sansone was granted his 103th U.S. patent, surpassing his 100th patent milestone. The patent, U.S. patent No. 6,650,739, issued November 18, 2003 by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, covers the "Method of providing personal messaging using a virtual messaging assistant."* The invention automatically forwards messages to a destination in accordance with user-selected preferences. The personal messaging assistant receives incoming messages and checks the user's calendar on their personal computer (PC) to find out where they are expected to be. It then calls the expected destination and inquires whether the user is present and if so, forwards messages by the preferred mode such as via facsimile, for example, to that destination. The personal messaging assistant can also handle confidential messages.

In recognizing Sansone, Michael J. Critelli, Pitney Bowes chairman and CEO stated, "Ron has reached a milestone in his 30-year R&D career that puts him in a category among other great inventors of his time, and reinforces his position as the most prolific inventor in Pitney Bowes history. His achievements have contributed greatly to supporting the innovative spirit upon which Pitney Bowes was founded, and which continues to be the cornerstone of our success today."

Pitney Bowes' intellectual property portfolio includes more than 3,500 patents worldwide in areas such as ticketing, cellular phone payment, shipping, laser printing, encryption and mail production and processing. The Intellectual Property Owners (IPO) Association has consistently ranked Pitney Bowes in the top 200 companies receiving U.S. patents. The company is strategically leveraging its technological assets through direct development and delivery of innovative solutions, acquisitions, strategic alliances and joint ventures, and by licensing proprietary technology to others.

Sansone is a Pitney Bowes Fellow and vice president of Strategic Innovation. His patent portfolio covers a broad range of technological innovations relating to digital printing, print quality, electronic tickets, enhanced information-based indicia, automated document filing systems, and database technology. His innovative focus has always been on both enhancing Pitney Bowes' core business and understanding disruptive technologies that may someday challenge them.

Sansone's 100th patent, U.S. patent No. 6,603,568 B1, issued August 5, 2003 by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, covers the "System and Method for Issuing Electronic Tickets." The invention teaches how a special graphic field can be added to an electronically printed ticket, preventing forgery by fraudulent ticket reproduction. The graphic field is designed to produce a "tell", a visible known image that when printed will sensibly change in appearance is either analog or digital reproduction of it is attempted.

Many of Sansone's 103 U.S. patents have been the basis for new product solutions for the company's customers; some have been strategically leveraged in alliances and joint ventures, and others have been licensed as proprietary technology to other companies. His most prominent patent, U.S. Patent No. 4,386,272, issued in 1983, pioneered the technology of laser printer resolution enhancement using variable print spot size formation that enabled the desktop printing industry to grow much faster after 1990. That patent was the basis of a licensing agreement between Pitney Bowes and Hewlett-Packard which, among its terms, resulted in a $400 million royalty payment to Pitney Bowes.

"It is an honor to have reached this achievement in my technical career. The R&D people and resources provided at Pitney Bowes have enabled me to excel in my commitment to innovation," Sansone said.

Pitney Bowes is the world's leading provider of integrated mail and document management systems, services and solutions. The $4.4 billion company helps organizations of all sizes engineer the flow of communication to reduce costs, increase impact, and enhance customer relationships. The company's 80-plus years of technological leadership has produced many major innovations in the mailing industry and more than 3,500 active patents with applications in a variety of markets, including printing, shipping, encryption and financial services. With approximately 33,000 employees worldwide, Pitney Bowes serves more than 2 million businesses through direct and dealer operations.

      * Co-inventors include Pitney Bowes employees: Terrence M. Doeberl of
        West Redding, CT; Judith A. Martin of Stamford, CT; Nathaniel M.
        Gifford of Trumbull, CT; Shawn P. Uleske of Stamford, CT; Michael W.
        Wilson of Trumbull, CT

      Contact:  Marianne Fulgenzi           Tracy Cerrone
                Pitney Bowes Inc.           Gaffney Bennett PR
                203-351-6974                860-229-0301
                Marianne.fulgenzi@pb.com    tcerrone@gaffneybennett.com


SOURCE  Pitney Bowes Inc.
    -0-                             01/12/2004
    /CONTACT:  Marianne Fulgenzi, of Pitney Bowes Inc., +1-203-351-6974,
Marianne.fulgenzi@pb.com; or Tracy Cerrone, of Gaffney Bennett PR,
+1-860-229-0301, tcerrone@gaffneybennett.com, for Pitney Bowes Inc./
    /Web site:  http://www.pitneybowes.com /
    (PBI)

CO:  Pitney Bowes Inc.
ST:  Connecticut
IN:  FIN OFP
SU:

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6399 01/12/2004 08:00 EST http://www.prnewswire.com