ARMONK, N.Y., Jan. 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE:
IBM) today announced a major step in its dedication to open
innovation and responsible stewardship of technology by joining LOT
Network Inc, a non-profit community of companies that builds a
protective barrier for its members against patent assertion
entities (PAEs).
PAEs acquire patents from third parties and some then try
to make money through litigation against potential infringers. This
can prove not only costly, but can also hamper innovation. LOT
Network contains more than two million patent assets. If any of
these falls into the hands of a PAE, LOT Network members receive a
license to that patent, meaning the PAE will not be able to sue
members for alleged infringement of that patent.
IBM's membership in LOT Network supports the protection of
innovations for IBM and its ecosystem of customers, developers and
like-minded companies across the industry. With today's news, IBM
is adding over 80,000 patents and patent applications under the
protection of LOT Network, shielding those patents from PAEs and
encouraging industry-wide open innovation.
In 2019, IBM acquired LOT Network founding member Red Hat, the
world's leading provider of enterprise open source software
solutions. In helping to create LOT Network, Red Hat sought to
protect innovation in the open source community, and showed that it
was a responsible patent steward by agreeing to license its patents
to other LOT Network members should its patents fall into the hands
of a PAEs.
"As the largest recipient of patents in the U.S. each year for
more than a quarter-century, IBM has continued to push the
boundaries of innovation, improving the way we live and work,
through some of the most disruptive technologies," said
Arvind Krishna, senior vice
president, Cloud and Cognitive Software, IBM. "Through our
membership in LOT Network, we are joining a group of like-minded
organizations, including Red Hat, that see strong value in
protecting the traditional uses of patents, while fostering open
innovation for today and the future."
"IBM is a welcome addition to the LOT Network's community of
600-plus companies," said Ken
Seddon, CEO, LOT Network. "IBM has a strong track record of
patenting innovation, and a sophisticated IP business. By joining
LOT network, they are providing a way for companies to mitigate
risk from PAEs, in direct alignment with the mission of LOT,
strengthening our collective ability to mitigate patent abuse."
Media Contact:
Hannah Slocum
IBM Cloud Communications
hslocum@us.ibm.com
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SOURCE IBM