Re: IBM tightens grip on mainframe ecosphere

Hi Fish ...

These story lines of long-ago tilts at established interests are no 
longer as relevant to today's battles now that patents have become the 
weapon of choice.   Look at the trouble Google is having trying to keep 
the relatively new entrant Android clear of problems:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20088878-93/how-google-can-do-more-than-beef-about-patents/

As far as I understand it, IBM will grant patent licenses to all of its
patent portfolio on "fair and reasonable terms", with two exceptions:
1)  Mainframe instruction set architecture, and
2)  Nano Technology

Control based on Nano patents will be profound, affecting way more than 
information technology.

I believe the tally stands as follows:  IBM has around 46,000 patent 
grants, 26,000 more applied for, with around 1/3 of applied patents 
being software patents.  Hard to even breathe without running afoul of
one of their patent claims.

Here is a link to a famous story about how SUN found this out the hard way:

http://www.forbes.com/asap/2002/0624/044.html

PDW





On 8/6/2011 11:41 PM, "Fish" (David B. Trout) wrote:
> Peter D. Ward wrote:
>
>> I am not sure that the storyline in The Man in the White Suite
>> is apposite here. [...]
>
> Hi Peter! Long time no see. :)
>
> Um, maybe:
>
>    Tucker: The Man and His Dream
>    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tucker:_The_Man_and_His_Dream
>    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096316/
>
>
> Still not quite right, I know, but maybe closer?
>


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