STAMFORD, Conn., May 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE: PBI) announced the winners of its 11th annual Inventor of the Year award by honoring the two inventors who are this year's recipients: Karl Schumacher of Westport, CT and Clare Woodman of Norwalk, CT. The winning patent, U.S. Patent No. 6,343,327 B2, issued January 29, 2002 by the U.S. Patent and Trademark office, covers the "System and Method for Electronic and Physical Mass Mailing." The invention, known commercially as Pitney Bowes D3(TM) Digital Document Delivery System, enables documents to be delivered both in electronic and physical formats. The electronic document is similar to the physical document in that it provides similar types of mail piece inserts. Using this invention, a mailer can use one solution to provide consistent essages over multiple delivery formats.

At a ceremony announcing the winners, Pitney Bowes Chairman and CEO Michael J. Critelli stated, "Today's communication environment is in varying states of transition between paper and electronic, and this year's winning invention helps customers navigate through this transition and engineer the flow of their critical business communications." He also added, "it is always with pleasure and great pride that this award is presented -- it not only provides an opportunity to recognize and honor outstanding talent, but it also underscores the company's 80-plus year heritage of innovation."

Pitney Bowes intellectual property portfolio includes more than 3,500 patents worldwide in areas such as ticketing, cellular telephones, shipping, laser printing, encryption and mailing. 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.

In addition to the Inventor of the Year award, the company also recognized inventors David Lee of Monroe, CT and Paul Sette of Branford, CT for receiving 30 or more U.S. patents during their careers at Pitney Bowes, and Ronald Sansone of Weston, CT as the inventor granted the highest number of U.S. patents during 2002. Sansone received eight patents last year, covering a broad range of technology relating to digital printing, electronic tickets, information based indicia, automated document filing systems, and trainable database technology.

"It is an honor to recognize the extraordinary contributions to Pitney Bowes made by these talented and innovative inventors," said Joseph E. Wall, Pitney Bowes senior vice president and chief technology officer. "Their accomplishments have enabled the company to provide shareholder and customer value through leading-edge products, services and solutions."

In a letter to the winning team, Connecticut Governor John G. Rowland stated: "I applaud Pitney Bowes for its outstanding commitment to the progress of the Stamford community and our entire state of Connecticut. It is a special tribute that Pitney Bowes is recognized for the utilization of our state's skilled workforce as your company continues to grow and prosper."

Information on the winning team members is as follows:

Karl Schumacher is vice president, Global Business Strategy and Acquisition at Pitney Bowes. Most recently, he was president of Pitney Bowes docSense, which was recently combined as the software and professional services arm of a unified Document Messaging Technologies division. Schumacher joined the company in 1987 and has held executive positions in strategic planning, marketing and product development. He is also credited with leading the company's approach to Internet-based bill presentment and payment. Schumacher is a noted industry spokesman, and has held positions on several strategic committees in the Xplor(TM) trade organization. He holds a Bachelor's degree from Wesleyan University, an MS from Syracuse University and an MBA in General Management from the University of Michigan.

Clare Woodman joined Pitney Bowes in 1987 and worked as an engineer in the area of Information Management Products, developing inserter platforms and controllers for several of the company's products and systems. In 1995, she was named Team Leader in her area and subsequently, helped develop the company's D3 Digital Document Delivery program. In 2000, she was promoted to Product Management, where she is currently working on printer partner relationships and Document Messaging Technologies input systems. A recipient of five patents, Clare earned a BS degree in Electrical Engineering from Swarthmore College, and an MBA in International Business studies from Bridgeport University.

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.

     Contact:  Marianne Fulgenzi
               Director, External Affairs
               203-351-6974
               Marianne.fulgenzi@pb.com


SOURCE  Pitney Bowes Inc.
    -0-                             05/27/2003
    /CONTACT:  Marianne Fulgenzi, Director, External Affairs of Pitney Bowes
Inc.,  +1-203-351-6974, Marianne.fulgenzi@pb.com/
    /Web site:  http://www.pitneybowes.com /
    (PBI)

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

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5557 05/27/2003 09:50 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com