IBM generally leads in the Patent Race every year... yet are not perceived as market leaders it seems.
So what causes the disconnect?
4 replies (most recent on top)
ibm has big revenues that result from selling these patents but they can't create a viable product based on most of them. For this reason they support patenting just anything and ofcourse it gets some good press.
For example there are some ibm patents that amazon (and many others) use that ibm couldn't turn into product themselves.
I heard they make several patents of a single idea. Also, they patent things that might look really obvious.
Example: you find a good angle for your laptop screen so you can read the text on there and also the light from the window doesn't blind you.
In IBM, this turns into several patents (how to place your laptop on the table, how to sit n your chair, how to use your window blinds, how to open and close the laptop, and finally what is the right angle when opening it). No breakthrough ideas or profit there, though.
Open source and patents don’t mix. Expect to see filings decrease over time.
IBM will support your patent idea for almost anything. I mean real viable patent ideas, of course. So, many patents might be for ideas that are completely outside the scope of IBM business. They’ll register the patent but no intention to ever create or build the thing that the patent is about.