Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

July 25, 2008 4:57:14 PM CDT

Learn about Newser Points »

« Back to the grid | Next story »

Making Money: Patent Pending

Posted Oct 24, 07 6:43 PM CDT in Technology,  Business 

(Newser) – Big Blue is seeing green in a recent patent filing. IBM, which holds more patents than any company in the world and reaps more than $1 billion in royalties annually, says it wants to make it easier for small companies to license its ideas on a “floating privilege basis.” So it's seeking a patent on a method of granting access to patent portfolios, reports the AP.

Experts say IBM’s patent is for a business method, which flies in the face of the company’s own campaign to limit patent law to technology. IBM filed a “friend of the court” brief on the topic with the US Supreme Court in 2005, but says this application is different because the business method “is all only possible with technology."

Source Associated Press

0 comments | Print E-mail | Digg Seed this on Newsvine Add this link to Del.icio.us StumbleUpon

Related Newser Stories

  • Tech Firms Buoyed by Demand Abroad

    Jul 18, 08 8:53 AM CDT
    Tech Firms Buoyed by Demand Abroad The tech sector keeps rolling even as the overall economy continues to flail, the Wall Street Journal reports. Four of tech’s giants, Microsoft, Google, IBM and Nokia, posted quarterly results yesterday, riding high on developed nations’ need for cost-saving technologies and emerging economies’ demand for infrastructure upgrades as the Internet and cell phones enjoy wider use in the developing world. More »

  • 10 Computers That Changed Everything

    Jul 16, 08 8:21 PM CDT
    10 Computers That Changed Everything Convenience is a given when it comes to today's PCs, but the machine you're reading this on has come a long way. Major transformations date as far back as the early 19th century. Live Science gives the back-story on 10 revolutionary computers.

    1. The Difference Engine, 1822: Designed by Charles Babbage but not built until decades later, today's replicas show this math-table-generating machine to work flawlessly.
    2. ENIAC, 1946: This US Army computer weighed 30 tons, used 17,478 vacuum tubes, and consumed 150 kilowatts.
    More »

  • New Tech Sinks or Swims Based on Whims

    Jan 20, 08 8:09 PM CST
    New Tech Sinks or Swims Based on Whims Innovations like the iPod and Prius usually require new user skills, and acceptance can depend on one's willingness to adapt, writes G. Pascal Zachary in the New York Times. “You throw technologies into the market and see what sticks,” he quotes one analyst as saying. Revolutionary stuff can sink, while tough-to-master can swim. More »

  • Corporations Share Green Tech Patents

    Jan 14, 08 2:31 PM CST
    Corporations Share Green Tech Patents IBM tops the list of companies donating patents to a group that aims to help businesses produce greener products by sharing eco-friendly technology. Big Blue has promised 27 patents to the Eco-patent Commons; Nokia, Sony and mail equipment maker Pitney-Bowes will also donate, reports PC World. Shared patents will be freely available to all companies. More »

  • IBM Launches Social Mapping Biz Tool

    Dec 29, 07 7:39 PM CST
    IBM Launches Social Mapping Biz Tool IBM has released a software tool named 'Atlas' that aims to track and analyze statistical relationships among individuals in a corporate setting, MIT Technology Review reports. Employees are given the opportunity to partake in business-adapted online practices—blogging, social grouping, bookmarking, organizing projects—and Atlas creates a "social graph" of the relationships formed among participants. More »

Patty McHugh, director of new business development of IBM voice systems, holds her first IBM Patent Application award from the company back in 1981.   (KRT Photos)
The IBM logo at the main campus in Research Triangle Park, N.C. is seen in this July 31, 2007 file photo. International Business Machines Corp. is expected to release quarterly earnings on Tuesday, Oct....   (Associated Press)
An IBM engineer, Brad Dillon, moves an antenna in a huge room where they test the radio frequency off the IBM Anyplace kiosk,Tuesday, July 31, 2007, on the main campus in Research Triangle Park, N.C....   (Associated Press)
An IBM employee walks through the Retail Test Super Lab where testing of the IBM Anyplace Kiosk is taking place, Tuesday, July 31, 2007,on the main campus in Research Triangle Park, N.C. (AP Photo/Karen...   (Associated Press)
(FILES) This 06 December 1999 file photo shows the IBM logo....   (Getty Images)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
Our editors also recommend:

Tags

business  • technology  • IBM  • patents  • patent trolls


Loading...

Loading...

Today's Most Popular


Other Business Stories

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Newser gives you more news in less time. We search for the best and most important stories all over the web, read them for you, and deliver concise and sharp summaries—along with links to the full text. Newser provides a way to stay on top of an ever-expanding horizon of news and opinion—politics, sports, business, trends, technology, personalities, crimes, and controversies. Newser keeps you not just better informed, but, with our signature graphic interface and smart condensed format, more enjoyably informed.

Learn more »