ROCHESTER, Minn. – For a 12th straight year, IBM’s scientists and engineers were the nation’s most prolific patentees. The giant technology company received 3,248 patents during 2004; the second-ranking company on the list, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. of Japan, accumulated 1,934, the U.S. Patent and Trademark office announced last week.
IBM made news then by pledging to open up access to 500 software patents that would be useful for “open source” projects. Open source refers specifically to Linux or similar operating systems that anyone can use without obtaining licenses or paying royalties
Link: Billings Gazette
