500 IBM patents to boost open source community
500 IBM patents to boost open source community
IBM has opened up access to 500 IBM of its 10,000 software patents to people working on open source software for free in an attempt to boost the industry and encourage new inventions.
IBM claims that this is the largest pledge ever of patents and represents a major shift away from the traditional manner in which IBM manages and deploys its intellectual property portfolio, such as patents, copyrights, trademark and trade-secrete laws.
Figures released by the United States Patent and Trademark Office reveal that big blue earned 3,248 patents in 2004, which is much more than any other company, but it claims that this new shift is aimed at stimulating economic growth and job creation.
Dr. John E. Kelly, IBM's senior vice president of Technology and Intellectual Property, added: "True innovation leadership is about more than just the numbers of patents granted. It's about innovating to benefit customers, partners and society.
"Continuing IBM's legacy of leadership in strategic use of intellectual property, our pledge today is the beginning of a new era in how IBM will manage intellectual property to benefit our partners and clients.
"Unlike the preceding Industrial Economy, the Innovation Economy requires that intellectual property deployed for more than just providing the owner with freedom of action and income generation."
He said that this move was not a one off, and pledged that IBM will continue to demonstrate leadership in patent output, through increasingly using patents to encourage and protect global innovation and interoperability through open standards.
However, IBM has also been accused of hypocrisy over patent collaboration because it is pushing for a new patent directive to be released in Europe through the Computer Implemented Inventions Directive.
The critics say that this will squeeze out small and medium-sized businesses which are actively seeking patents and will allow IBM to control who can and cannot develop computer software.
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