Comment: Who benefits from IBM and the USPTO's 'open' bid to up patent quality?

By Matt Whipp

Posted on 12 Jan 2006 at 12:14

If there is one positive thing to draw from this; if the free and open-source software community is to have a system for submitting code as prior art direct to the USPTO, then it has a means to stay true to its ideals.

IBM and others may be driving innovation in open-source software, but that's no reason to capitulate to the acceptance of patents in exchange. What the FOSS community and those benefiting from its work submitted new innovations in software were as non-patent prior art using the system, rather than applying for patents on it? Perhaps building a database of such technology, to which the USPTO has direct access, would mean it could be used as a powerful means to invalidate future patent attempts.

So the challenge for IBM and others benefiting from FOSS with the Open Source Software as Prior Art project is to see how much non-patent code they are prepared to submit as prior art under this new system.

IBM hadn't replied to requests for comment by the time of publishing.