IBM wants to invent a better patent

Feb. 23, 2006
IBM, which has received more U.S. patents than any other company for 13 years in a row, is working with the U.S. Patent Office to improve patent quality.

IBM, which has received more U.S. patents than any other company for 13 years in a row, is working with the U.S. Patent Office to improve patent quality.

The computer-services company is also working with the Open Source Development Labs (OSDL) organization that promotes Linux, the broader, open-source software community, and academia, on initiatives to improve patent quality.

The U.S. patent system is an increasingly high-profile issue in the technology industry, and intellectual property issues are leading to more and more lawsuits.

One element of the initiative is the Open Patent Review, a program that lets academics and corporate technologists easily view contents of filed patents and provide feedback to patent examiners. The proposed system will be designed so people receive e-mail or RSS alerts about patent applications that meet certain criteria.

In a related effort, the OSDL is hosting a Web site called the Open Source Software as Prior Art, a project designed as a way to search existing open-source code. The project will also establish open source software — with its millions of lines of publicly available computer-source code contributed by thousands of programmers— as potential prior art against patent applications.

The third initiative, the Patent Quality Index, calls for a system to rank the quality of patent applications. "IBM believes patents should be granted only for ideas that embody genuine scientific progress and technological innovation," says Dr. John Kelly, IBM senior vice president of Technology and Intellectual Property.

Sponsored Recommendations

NEW Low Profile, Ultra Compact Power Supplies

March 13, 2024
Learn more HERE about Altech's Power supplies!

Altech's Liquid Tight Strain Relifs Catalog

March 13, 2024
With experienced Product Engineers and Customer Service personnel, Altech provides solutions to your most pressing application challenges. All with one thought in mind - to ensure...

Industrial Straight-Through Cable Gland

March 13, 2024
Learn more about Altech's cable glands and all they have to offer for your needs!

All-In-One DC-UPS Power Solutions

March 13, 2024
Introducing the All-In-One DC-UPS, a versatile solution combining multiple functionalities in a single device. Serving as a power supply, battery charger, battery care module,...

Voice your opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of Machine Design, create an account today!