IBM allows 500 patents to be freely used in open source software.

[swestrup]

IBM announced recently that they have been reconsidering their entire approach to intellectual property and how they manage it, and in the first of what they say will be a number of changes in their policies, they are allowing 500 of their patents to be used freely in open source products.

Lets all hope this is the start of a new trend.

Comments

[swestrup]

IBM has come a very long way. When I started in the industry, IBM was hated with a passion that is now exclusively reserved for Microsoft. They have gone from being the Evil Empire to a Somewhat-more-enlightened-than-usual corporation and I tip my hat to them for the change, even if it took federal legislation to start the ball rolling.

[lasher.livejournal.com]

ya, I know what you mean about the change. i never thought that I would work for IBM. I only know of the black wool Suits. Stuffy attitude. Formality. However, I didn't come into IBM until 1997 in the middle / end of their "reform". Thank you to Lou Gerstner for that change. I lucked out and started in the AIX Support Center where everyone was "business casual" for dress... except that our managers didn't want to dress up either... so we were even less formal than that. This was in the middle of the big "dot com bubble" and life was good.

In fact, I really LIKE working for IBM. However, I qualify this statement by saying that I really like working for the part of IBM that I am in now (development). If I still had to work in the tech support area - I would have quit long ago. So, it is all relative. Especially when you consider that moving to another employer could yield the same problems. IBM has amazing health, vacation, and retirement benefits - well, more amazing for those of us hired before Jan 1 of 2004. Whenever I think that "my job sucks"... I just remember those benefits and that I can be in a job that sucks without them.