| IBM releases patents for open source | 2005-01-11 15:32 1 comment |
 by Flemming FunchI can rant a lot about the evilness of corporations. But it is very nice that there are some corporations that actually can figure out to stick with the light side of the force, while still remaining profitable. I'm talking about IBM here. I'm sure there must be something bad one can find to say about them too, but they do seem to be doing a lot of things right. They're one of the biggest supporters of Open Source, having released a lot of stuff out in the open, and paying lots of people for developing more. Interestingly, they will probably insist that it has nothing to do with any kind of inherent philosophy of free sharing. It is simply that they listen to what people want and try to find a viable business in delivering it. And people want open source. But you can of course contrast that with the Microsoft type of corporation, that apppears to have no interest in delivering what people actually want, but which wants to persuade, trick and hook people into buying what they want to sell, and which has a definite agenda about it, which isn't ours. Now NY Times (registration required) reports that 500 of the patents they hold will now be freely available to anybody who works on open source. Bravo. But, again, it isn't just to be nice. As the article describes, they've carefully examined where their own economic self-interests lie, and they've realized how open technology standards and collaboration stimulate economic growth and job creation. Many smart folks can be found that agree with that, but it is still much too unheard of for a large corporation to proactively act accordingly. |