IBM Opens Its Code To Cadre Of DevelopersIBM Opens Its Code To Cadre Of Developers

IBM's decision to give open-source software developers free use of 500 patents could pave the way for more-robust Linux architectures in the enterprise, open-source advocates say. "There's definitely some meat here," says Bill Weinberg, open-source architecture specialist at the Open Source Development Labs Inc., which counts Linux creator Linus Torvalds among its executives.

In particular, Weinberg says three of the patents could help developers build more-efficient Linux-based symmetric multiprocessing servers, make better use of software run-time libraries to create memory-efficient applications, and more easily connect Linux- and Unix-based systems to Windows systems.

IBM is offering up a host of patents--from methods for encrypting data to network-monitoring techniques--free of charge for use by open-source software developers, the company said last week. Under the plan, IBM will immediately contribute 500 patents to what it hopes will become an industrywide "patent commons," from which commercial and private developers can mine commonly used code and programming techniques.

The gesture isn't completely altruistic. IBM officials believe the company, along with users, will benefit if more commercial software development is turned over to the open-source community. "The more things they develop, the more we can develop around that," IBM standards VP Bob Sutor says.

Some observers believe the program could be a tactical move to preempt governmental bodies from limiting software patents, a notion some European regulators are backing. But Weinberg says the announcement is consistent with IBM's past efforts to promote Linux as its operating system of choice. "They're trying to protect their investment," he says.

IBM plans to release more patents to open-source developers in the future. "We don't have a fixed timetable," Sutor says. Coming on the heels of the sale of its PC business, the move is a further indication that IBM wants to position itself primarily as a service provider, says one analyst. "If your goal is to be a provider of higher-value services and solutions, then fighting over who owns a file format isn't critical," says John Rymer, VP for application development research at Forrester Research.

The intellectual property the patents represent will be available only to programmers working on projects that meet the Open Source Software Initiative definition of open-source software. Among other things, that definition stipulates that open-source software remains royalty-free.

In a thinly veiled rebuke of Unix-developer SCO Group Inc., IBM says it retains the right to block organizations that file lawsuits asserting patent rights over open-source software from accessing the patents it's contributing. The stipulation is necessary to "avoid the possibility that a party will take advantage of this pledge and then assert patents or other intellectual-property rights of its own against open-source software," IBM says in a statement. SCO has filed lawsuits against IBM and Linux users claiming that parts of Linux violate SCO's Unix trade secrets.

IBM says it wants to hasten innovation in the software industry by giving up patents that govern routine development techniques and code. But the company says it will enforce patents covering what it believes are truly innovative advancements. As if to underscore the point, IBM said last week that it was awarded more than 3,000 patents in 2004--the 12th year in a row it has received more patents than any other U.S. company.