Bonum Certa Men Certa

IBM is Getting Desperate and Now Suing Microsoft Over Lost Staff, Not Just Suing Everyone Using Patents

Recent: Famed Journalist Dan Gillmor Calls IBM the Inventor of Patent Trolling

Ginni Rometty



Summary: IBM's policy when it comes to patents, not to mention its alignment with patent extremists, gives room for thought if not deep concern; the company rapidly becomes more and more like a troll

THE DAYS of IBM as a friend of developers are long gone. About a decade ago we were supportive of IBM for all sorts of reasons, including OpenDocument Format (ODF). But nowadays IBM is a patent bully which lobbies for software patents, just like Microsoft. Simply because IBM is "not Microsoft" (the same goes for Apple) does not imply that it's benign or even desirable.

"...nowadays IBM is a patent bully which lobbies for software patents, just like Microsoft."Our previous post was about Microsoft's patent bullying. It's something it has in common with IBM and its battles over software patents (albeit on the defensive side) are being brought up this week (quotes from Enfish, LLC v Microsoft, a decision which was used a lot last year as an argument for software patents).

From one lobbyist of software patents (and patent thug) to another jumps Ms McIntyre. According to this report from this week: "In a motion filed today, McIntyre says IBM has no evidence she has or will misappropriate any IBM information and that the company is covered by an ongoing NDA. She also says she informed IBM of the Microsoft job offer in January, which was when she was terminated."

"He's linking to Watchtroll, as usual, and when he speaks of "improving the US patent system" he means facilitating patent blackmail by the likes of IBM."IBM just shows how desperate it has become. How long before IBM has more lawyers than actual engineers?

What has IBM been reduced to? Watch this tweet from IBM's Manny Schecter (the patent chief). It's embarrassing. He's linking to Watchtroll, as usual, and when he speaks of "improving the US patent system" he means facilitating patent blackmail by the likes of IBM. How convenient. He said: "Former Patent Commish Stoll describes tough sledding ahead for new Director Iancu in improving the US #patent system: What should USPTO Director Andrei Iancu do first?"

IBM is already lobbying through Mr. Kappos, a former IBM employee whom we wrote about last night. Iancu should watch out because Watchtroll and Schecter are trying to manipulate him rather than help him. So does Stoll, who was supposed to 'retire' 7 years ago.

"IBM is already lobbying through Mr. Kappos, a former IBM employee whom we wrote about last night. Iancu should watch out because Watchtroll and Schecter are trying to manipulate him rather than help him."Schecter seems to be feeling some heat. He has just said: "Must be doing something right when both extreme pro-patent pundits and extreme anti-patent pundits are concerned about my views..."

"Patent policies of companies (or people who manage these policies) matter depending on the context," I told him. The very fact is, IBM's patent policies come to a large degree from him and his association with "extreme pro-patent pundits" (his words) like Watchtroll does him no favour.

Watch this reply which insinuates Schecter is doing "something wrong."

"To intelligent people," he said, "labeling and demonizing critics is a red flag that the merits of one's ideology are questionable. Stick to the merits."

"We worry that sooner or later there will be nothing left of IBM other than a pile of patents and a long list of pending lawsuits."Earlier this week, IBM's friends at Watchtroll (extremists like Paul Morinville) did their usual shaming of patent reform and more of that China bashing (never mind if IBM sells a lot of its business to Chinese firms such as Lenovo).

We worry that sooner or later there will be nothing left of IBM other than a pile of patents and a long list of pending lawsuits. It's then that IBM formally becomes a patent troll.

Recent Techrights' Posts

UKIP TV (GBNoise) Covers Challengers to UKIP Nigel, Daniel Pocock Mentioned
Way to get noticed
 
Gemini Links 19/07/2026: Visiting Ethiopia, Two Dreams, and Price of Skinnerboxes
Links for the day
Tears in IBM, Company Falls Apart While Management Fakes "Performance" to Take Bonuses
Wall Street is a naked emperor
Telling Our Story
In the coming years we'll have some high-impact stories to share and generally tell without fear of reprisal
Microsoft XBox Studio Leaders Upset at What the New CEO Did
From what we can gather, in 2024 XBox was already entering what's known as a "death spiral". Now it's literally moving down the drain/pipe.
IRC Started in Finland, GNU/Linux Did Not
History is like that
GNU/Linux Rises to 8% in Bhutan, Same as the International Average
Taking note of estimated GNU/Linux share in that country, we see it hovering around the international median/average this month
Links 19/07/2026: "The Voice of Google" and "Chinese Surveillance Tech a Threat to Privacy"
Links for the day
Keep Both Eyes on the Ball
At the moment we have six series running in parallel; two of them concern the EPO
'Journalists' Who Help IBM Cover Up Fraud
Journalistic malpractice
The "Modern Linux" Song
Join us now, make the kernel
XBox Layoffs Vastly Bigger Than Microsoft Told the Press, Microsoft Keeps Trying to Change the Subject
Many so-called "XBox fans" are no more
Microsoft Lost 1,200 Billion Dollars in "Market Value", Take a Look at What Happened to Windows
while Windows continues to fall unstoppably GNU/Linux is surging
Links 19/07/2026: People in China Are Buying Feelings and 404 Media Has Third Anniversary
Links for the day
Gemini Links 19/07/2026: Camping, Health, and Hardware
Links for the day
The State of Slopfarms
Slopfarms or LLM slopfarms are a menace and a problem on the Web
GNU/Linux Rising to 6% in Brunei
seventh in the world for GDP (PPP) per capita
Free Software is Like an 'Activist Movement'
People who argue strongly in favour of something (even very good things) will attract the wrath of those whom they oppose
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, July 18, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, July 18, 2026
Links 18/07/2026: Chinese State Media Depicting Neighbours as Monkeys, US "Stocks Sink on Anxiety About Tech and Hey Hi (AI) Spending"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 18/07/2026: "Business Idiots Everywhere", "The Siren Song of DePIN", and Entering Geminispace
Links for the day
GNU/Linux in Lithuanian Desktops/Laptops Climbs to 8%, the Global Average
For its own national security it would be wise to abandon Windows
This Bubble is Bursting, Piecewise
It's nice to see Wall Street getting some reality checks
It's Not About XBox, Microsoft is Already Firing Hundreds of People Who Do "Security [sic] Engineering" [sic]
The official reason/excuse/lie told is something about slop, but no sane person would buy it (not even insiders who are impacted)
Can We Finally All Agree That UEFI 'Secure Boot' is a Sham That Harms Security and Gives Microsoft Remote Control Over All PCs and Servers (Even Those That Don't Run Any Microsoft Software)?
Cui bono?
Bolivian People Adopt GNU/Linux (They Have a Domestic Distro Too, PluriOS)
Notice Windows falling to an all-time low
No Technical People Write About UK Parliamentary Elections
Almost none of them work in the media, which seems to favour parrots, slop, or parrots that use slop
"But Stallman is Scaring Away Women..."
Such dishonest projections (projection tactics) needs to be called out and refuted
First Female Debian Project Leader (DPL) Affirms Low Profile and Inferior Status of Women in GAFAM
3 months ago Sruthi Chandran was elected as Debian Project Leader (DPL) for a period of 12 months
After 5 Years Vista 11 Still Adopted Less Than Its Predecessor (Orphaned, End of Life Since Last Year)
Notice Windows going down to 40%
We Don't Depend on Google (or Search Engines in General)
there's a lesson here and it extends beyond sites
Only "Torvaldos" (Linus Torvalds) Can Use the F-Word, CoC Does Not Apply to the Enforcer, and Richard Stallman Punished for Using the Other F-Word ("Freedom")
"Linus Torvalds tells AI haters to fork off"
Explaining the Culture of Bulletin Board-Style Chat
Only desperate detractors would try to present something (cherry-picked) from IRC as some sort of official statement for Techrights
Independent, But Not Fringe
"Daniel Pocock is an Independent Candidate."
In Free Software, Nobody Gets Fired
Way to own one's code and project
PIP-Styled Mass Layoffs Allegedly Coming to Microsoft by 12 August 2026
Microsoft has been doing "silent layoffs" (PIPs and more) for quite some time
Daniel Pocock's Candidacy (Election of Member of Parliament) Mentioned in BBC and Over a Dozen News Sites Since Yesterday
Funnily enough, albeit not surprisingly, the same people who attack Pocock also attack us
Links 18/07/2026: Spotify Uses Slop Song Descriptions, "San Francisco Demands Removal of Nudify Apps"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, July 17, 2026
IRC logs for Friday, July 17, 2026
Gemini Links 18/07/2026: A Manifesto by The Dissident, Shokz Headphones, and Gemini Tinylog Reader (GTL)
Links for the day
IBM Already Tentatively Down for Next Week (Monday) After Its Worst-Ever Week
What a week for IBM!
Daniel Pocock as Independent Candidate, Now in The London Standard
"Daniel Pocock is an independent candidate."
Links 17/07/2026: Protests Erupt Throughout Ukraine and Anthropic Caught Secretly Spying on Users
Links for the day
Gemini Links 17/07/2026: "Silence Doesn't Mean Abandoned", Revisiting PalmOS in 2026
Links for the day
Andy Burnham as National Leader Would be Excellent for Techrights
Burnham has envisioned a British "centre of power" (or gravity) that moves northwards, isn't concentrated in the southeast anymore
Farage Out, Daniel Pocock in?
Can Pocock beat his previous voting record?
Layoffs at Microsoft Are Massive, Go Under the Radar for the Most Part
Microsoft is in a really bad shape
One Heck of a Week for IBM, the 'Grandpa' of 'High-Tech', International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) Under Investigation by Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC
If IBM gets busted or might be busted, will the CEO jump, get pushed, or be arrested?
In Defence of Courts' Privacy Policies
If you want friends, go offline. Meet real people and share real experiences.
Why I Quit Academic Career (or Academia) Nearly 15 Years Ago
I am told by people who stayed that it has only gotten worse
“Why Open Source Misses the Point of Free Software”
As Dr. Richard Stallman once put it
GNU/Linux Grows at the Expense of Microsoft Windows in Croatia, Now Close to 8%
Croatia has been mentioned a lot lately in relation to EPO "lobbying" (vote-rigging)
27-Year IBM Veteran on IBM: "Worse than the Titanic and Perhaps Just Like Madoff, Enron, etc."
several comments we saw today envisioned the CEO of IBM in an orange suit (in US prison)
EPO "Cocaine Communication Manager" - Part XV - Nazi-Like Thinking at the European Patent Office (EPO) Not a Thing of the Past
antisemitism inside the EPO
Daniel Pocock Running for Office Again, Clacton-on-Sea By-election
By-election - code name "Pocock-on-Sea"
ServiceNow/ServiceLine and Slop at the EPO is Becoming a Health Risk to Staff
PD44 has historically been the oppressor at the EPO
IBM Can Burn Pensioners to Appease Wall Street and Protect the Billionaire CEO With His Humongous Bonuses
Its stock it set to open 2.82% in the red
IBM SHAREHOLDER INVESTIGATION: Potential Securities Claims Involving International Business Machines (IBM)
there's a risk of criminal action against executives
Tux Machines Moving Onwards and Upwards
"...tasks expand to fill the time available"
The Register MS is Publishing Spam for Gartner Group to Spread Hype About "AI", Mentioned 30 Times in the Paid (Fake) Article
One sure thing is, the so-called 'tech media' is profoundly compromised by American corporations
"Market Share" of GNU/Linux Nearly Trebled in Cambodia This Month
GNU/Linux is still measured at 8% by statCounter
GitHub is Dying (Traffic Down Despite Bots and Slop), Microsoft Will Eventually Cull it - Just Like XBox - to Limit the Losses
Do not stay on GitHub (Microsoft) under the false assumption that it is "free hosting" or will always be around
Teaser: Daniel Pocock is About to Go Mainstream Again
Stay tuned, Pocock has something in store
Microsoft Has Just Been Sued Over Layoffs
If the rumours are true, there is yet another wave of layoffs at Microsoft
Richard Stallman Always Cautioned, Upfront, That His Political Views Were Wholly Separate From His Scientific Work or GNU
Notice that he already spoke a lot about politics
Links 17/07/2026: Microsoft is Cutting OneDrive Coverage, Larry Ellison Sued by Paramount Investor
Links for the day
Nichirei and Asahi Beer Need to Take Cyberattacks as Hint of Opportunity to Move to Free Software
Windows TCO
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, July 16, 2026
IRC logs for Thursday, July 16, 2026
Gemini Links 17/07/2026: Sunlight in the Clouds, Techno-Therapy, and Sloppifying Original Text
Links for the day