A new corporate approach to intellectual property

IBM is making 500 of its patents available for free to people doing open source projects. Rock on!

I.B.M. executives say the company’s new approach to intellectual property represents more than a rethinking of where the company’s self-interest lies. In recent speeches, for example, Samuel J. Palmisano, I.B.M.’s chief executive, has emphasized the need for more open technology standards and collaboration as a way to stimulate economic growth and job creation.

Imagine a big company like IBM actually “getting it.” Almost gives you hope regarding the future of intellectual property (that is, until you read anything about Microsoft or SCO or Disney or just about every other company in the world). Sigh…

Meredith Farkas

Meredith Farkas is a faculty librarian at Portland Community College in Oregon. From 2007-2021, she wrote the monthly column “Technology in Practice” for American Libraries. Meredith was honored in 2014 with the ACRL Instruction Section Innovation Award, in 2008 and 2011 with the WISE Excellence in Online Education Award and in 2009 with the LITA/Library Hi Tech award for Outstanding Communication in Library and Information Technology. She has been writing the blog Information Wants to be Free since 2004.

A new corporate approach to intellectual property by Meredith Farkas

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Meredith Farkas