eBay Inc. leaders and employees gathered to celebrate the company’s inventors March 18 in a ceremony at San Jose’s South campus.
Emily Ward, vice president for Technology and Patents, welcomed the crowd, saying, “This party is for all of you – to celebrate our inventors, our innovators, our global talent – everyone who works so hard here to make our innovations great and make eBay a great company.”
Chief Technology Officer Mark Carges began by thanking the company’s patent holders and patent attorneys. He stressed the importance of innovation to the company. “You have all heard me talk about clock speed and the importance of us delivering our innovations to our customers faster than our competitors, and clearly our patents are an important part of that,” he said. “Keep inventing.”
John Donahoe, eBay Inc.’s president and CEO, noted that 2012 was a record year for patent filings for the company.
“We’ve begun to embrace an exciting vision of connected commerce, where we can change the world,” Donahoe said. “We can’t do that without innovation. And a key component of innovation is doing something that has never been done before, and then protecting it through patents.”
“Now is the time to grab our future,” he added. “Now is the time to lead in innovation. Now is the time to build on the great work that all of you have done to drive incredible, compelling experiences for our customers.”