IBM Wins Most U.S. Patents for 21st Year in a Row | Hacker News Reader

IBM Wins Most U.S. Patents for 21st Year in a Row

bloomberg.com

24 pointskungfudoi13 comments

If there was any doubt that the patent system was literally a game, this headline is it: "IBM _Wins Most US Patents..."

So did they earn them? File for them? Play some kind of hunger-games-alike game to win them?

it's a funny turn of language. It really does imply that IBM somehow didn't research them like they're supposed to...

I agree that it reflects some of the absurdity of the patent system, but only incidentally... language is flexible, and how people use it to describe something doesn't inform the nature of that thing.

having gone through portent writing and application processes myself, it really is like a game to see how much you can get away with.

I interviewed for a job at IBM, and found out the answer to this question: IBM requires its employees to come up with patents for IBM, and gives the employee a bonus for doing so. It's completely stupid.

IBM does a lot of stuff that's really patent-worthy - materials, processes, semiconductor techniques etc. It's not like they patented the most FAT filesystems, double-tap-to-open or one-click-purchases for the 21st year in a row.

I'm an IBMer but I'm also personally disgusted with stupid patents. IBM does invent a lot of things. They also purchase companies that invent a lot of things. Though I have seen a few examples on HN where they were granted a patent for something that was already somewhat common (can't find the reference, sorry). Basically they aren't your typical patent trolls even though their business models relies on owning patents.

I'm quite sure that even if you removed the stupid/obvious patents from the total, there is a good chance IBM would still be leading the pack.

Are the (few in percentage) "good patents" the carrot so that we the pull the cart and accept the whole patent system?

With inventors from 41 countries, more than 31 percent of the patents came from overseas.

This is a bit confusing to me. Is IBM acquiring patents through buyouts/purchases or are these inventors IBM employees? Seems like the former would be more likely.

only 1/3rd of IBM's employees are in the US... they have more employees in India than in the US

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9169678/IBM_stops_dis...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_India

Both. IBM uses incentives for employees to patent inventions. They also have been purchasing companies with significant patent portfolios lately.

It is staggering how much innovation goes on in IBM. But you see, IBM is not a consumer oriented company. You won't hold a shiny IBM gadget in your hands any time soon. So the public opinion, even techies, will often underestimate IBM's relevance in the tech world.

(DISCLAIMER: I'm an IBMer.)

Funny, I wasn't aware that intellectual property was a quantity competition.

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