The U.S. laser industry is a major player in the country's economy, with its products used in factories, laboratories, offices, homes and motor vehicles around the country. The issues addressed by the laser industry during the past several decades - patent litigation, worker education, export controls, international standardization, and others - are those that any emerging high-tech industry will have to face. Offering a roadmap for future technology development and commercialization, this book chronicles the laser and electro-optics industry and its issues for business executives, scientists and technicians, attorneys, journalists, historians, and others.