January 28, 2005

IBM has donated 500 of it's patents and inventions for free use by the open source community. The patents cover a broad range of intellectual property, including Web services, database storage, e-mail, and many other specific applications.

Analyst J. Paul Kirby evaluates the impact of the donation as something that "makes it harder for Microsoft and Sun to monetize Web services transactions. It is also a further signal that anyone wanting to handicap open source through litigation will have to get through IBM first."

IBM's strategic interest in spreading and promoting open source is that it provides the hardware and infrastructure to enable open source transactions.

Other companies, however, want to make their revenues from Web services applications themselves, Kirby notes: "Customers are concerned that vendors want to push demand-based pricing too far, actually charging for each business transaction that gets passed through Web services." IBM, on the other hand, wants Web services transactions to be free, notes Kirby.

Look for IBM's IP donation to spur increased open source software development which, not coincidentally, will create a greater market for IBM's own portfolio.

IBM's commitment to this state of affairs is both strong and long-term, concludes Kirby. "As Microsoft gives ever-stronger indications that litigation may be forthcoming, the need for reassurance grows, too...No one should overlook the Big Blue elephant in the lobby of the courthouse."

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