Close
  • Latest News
  • Cybersecurity
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Mobile
  • Networking
  • Storage
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Menu
Search
  • Latest News
  • Cybersecurity
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Mobile
  • Networking
  • Storage
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Development
    • Development
    • Servers

    IBM Patents Payments

    By
    Darryl K. Taft
    -
    February 2, 2004
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      In a nod to the open-source development model, IBM has patented a method that maps out a means of payment for broad numbers of developers working together on projects.

      U.S. Patent 6,658,642, which IBM applied for in June 2000, was granted last month. In it, IBM identifies a “system, method and program product” for development that employs a distributed programming model, according to the documentation defining the patent. The patent describes the current software development environment, where pressure to turn out quality software quickly is pushing companies to rely on developers outside corporate walls.

      “The high-tech industry is moving very fast and the first to market has a big advantage over competitors, often deciding the early winner,” IBM said in a description of the patent. “So, speeding up software development increases the likelihood of success. One way to speed up software development is to increase the number of programmers on the project, distributing the workload to as many programmers as possible. Unfortunately, hiring people for a very short period of time complicates rather than simplifies development.”

      IBMs patent defines a mechanism for paying programmers who work in an open-source-like model. The invention is aimed at reducing development time and costs and increasing the number of software development successes, the patent said.

      Nancy Gamburd, a patent attorney and partner in the Chicago law firm of Dykema Gossett PLLC, said the IBM patent “does have implications for the open-source community, and how IBM utilizes this IP [intellectual property] will be interesting to watch, to say the least.

      IBMs developer payment patent

      • A way to maximize the number of developers working on a project
      • Designed to reduce development time and development costs
      • Designed to increase the likelihood of software development success
      • Applies a payment scheme to an open-source-like development model
      • Enables developers to generate track records and certification for use on future projects

      “This is quite possibly one of those questionable business method patents that the public loves to hate but that we would all like to own and wonder why we didnt do it first. The patent really covers virtual outsourcing for software development and has some surprisingly broad coverage,” Gamburd said.

      An IBM spokeswoman was unable to provide comment last week, as the researchers involved were unavailable.

      IBM issued a release earlier this month citing the number of patents the company was issued last year. According to IBM, the company was issued 3,415 patents by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. In addition, the Armonk, N.Y., company had more than 1,400 software-related patents, or about 40 percent of the patents the company received last year, IBM officials said.

      Although the patented scheme appears to mimic an open-source model, IBM does not call it an open-source development paradigm. The company has invested heavily in open source and is one of the leading proponents of the Linux operating system. Last week at the LinuxWorld conference in New York, IBM officials touted the companys respect for the open-source community.

      “We have been very sensitive to be good citizens [of the open-source community],” said Irving Wladawsky-Berger, IBMs general manager of e-business on demand, in an interview. “If you want to be accepted, you have to show up with your best and brightest. It has been a good relationship, but we work very hard at it.”

      Avatar
      Darryl K. Taft
      Darryl K. Taft covers the development tools and developer-related issues beat from his office in Baltimore. He has more than 10 years of experience in the business and is always looking for the next scoop. Taft is a member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and was named 'one of the most active middleware reporters in the world' by The Middleware Co. He also has his own card in the 'Who's Who in Enterprise Java' deck.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Android

      Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro: Durability for Tough...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 5, 2020 0
      Have you ever dropped your phone, winced and felt the pain as it hit the sidewalk? Either the screen splintered like a windshield being...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Why Data Security Will Face Even Harsher...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 1, 2020 0
      Who would know more about details of the hacking process than an actual former career hacker? And who wants to understand all they can...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      How Veritas Is Shining a Light Into...

      eWEEK EDITORS - September 25, 2020 0
      Protecting data has always been one of the most important tasks in all of IT, yet as more companies become data companies at the...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      How NVIDIA A100 Station Brings Data Center...

      Zeus Kerravala - November 18, 2020 0
      There’s little debate that graphics processor unit manufacturer NVIDIA is the de facto standard when it comes to providing silicon to power machine learning...
      Read more
      Apple

      Why iPhone 12 Pro Makes Sense for...

      Wayne Rash - November 26, 2020 0
      If you’ve been watching the Apple commercials for the past three weeks, you already know what the company thinks will happen if you buy...
      Read more
      eWeek


      Contact Us | About | Sitemap

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      Terms of Service | Privacy Notice | Advertise | California - Do Not Sell My Information

      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×