This is great news! Much better than I ever expected!
Xillix should be back on track fairly fast (I hope) but it will take some time to re-hire staff, for all departments incl. Sales as well as R&D.
The apology is window dressing, in my opinion, and probably due to insistence by the Japanese, so that they could "save face", which is of paramount importance to them. My guess is that in reality, Xillix still thinks Olympus tried to screw them over big-time, and just did not succeed.
My earlier analysis of the situation (when it happened) was that Olympus had hoped to keep its patent shenanigans a secret a bit longer, until Xillix had burned most of its cash and was vulnerable. Xillix caught on in time to slam on the operational brakes and preserve cash for the legal battle. Good work on their part, I say, and a truly amazing outcome!
And I am *VERY* glad to see that Xillix has learned their lesson and Olympus no longer has "exclusive" marketing rights ANYWHERE.
At the risk of sounding racist (which I am not), I have seen this kind of thing before with Japanese companies (QLT and the Japanese laser co. as an example). I think one must be very cautious in dealing with them on a "trust" basis...but then, that advice can be applied to any country.
Garth. |
