IBM Joining Free Sofware Movement?

According to a January 11, 2005 report from Reuters, U.S. patent leader IBM said late on Monday it plans to donate 500 patents for free use by software developers, marking a major shift of intellectual property strategy for the world's top computer maker and a challenge to the high-tech industry Jim Stallings, IBM's vice president in charge of intellectual property, said in an interview that the move was meant to "encourage other companies to unlock patent portfolios in order to spur technological innovation."

The IBM press release notes that the pledged patents and further related information will be posted on IBM's website here. "True innovation leadership is about more than just the numbers of patents granted. It's about innovating to benefit customers, partners and society," said Dr. John E. Kelly, IBM senior vice president, Technology and Intellectual Property. "Continuing IBM's legacy of leadership in the strategic use of intellectual property, our pledge today is the beginning of a new era in how IBM will manage intellectual property to benefit our partners and clients. Unlike the preceding Industrial Economy, the Innovation Economy requires that intellectual property be deployed for more than just providing the owner with freedom of action and income generation."