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

Enjoy the Giving/Sharing, Not Taking
We've long supported what we believed in, even with the little money we had
SLAPP Censorship - Part 190 Out of 200: Plagiarism, Back Doors, and Sabotage of Linux
This can go on for a decade or longer
 
Links 20/09/2026: "Google Now Asking For Users’ Video Selfies" and Energy Prices Set to Rise
Links for the day
Links 20/09/2026: Amazon Layoffs, Flock 'Buyouts' (Silent Layoffs)
Links for the day
USCIS and Microsoft Rumours: Curbs on Lowering Salaries by Importing Cheaper Replacements?
It seems like Microsoft's mass layoffs and efforts to cheapen the workforce face obstacles
Gemini Links 20/09/2026: "Music While Working" and Radio Silence
Links for the day
Clownflare Data From Canada
We've like to think many people are attempting to install GNU/Linux over the weekend
Linux Kernel Becoming a Slopfest - Part 5 - Kernel Dependency on Plagiarism Giant Microsoft is a Death Blow to Any Kernel
Microsoft is bringing copyright-infringing slop into Linux
GNU/Linux Has Grown a Lot Lately
Based on Clownflare
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, September 19, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, September 19, 2026
Links 19/09/2026: Many Patents Become Candidates for Annulment and Linux [sic] Foundation Takes More Slop Money to Promote Malicious Bots
Links for the day
Gemini Links 19/09/2026: The Fundamental Human Assets, The History of Gopher's "i" Type, and ROOPHLOCH 2026
Links for the day
Links 19/09/2026: "OpenAI and Microsoft Knew They Were Starting a ‘Doom Loop’ [of Mass Plagiarism 'Normalised' by Brute Force] for the web", Calling It "Hey Hi"
Links for the day
8 Series Going on at the Moment in Techrights
4 series about SLAPPs and related matters
Linux Kernel Becoming a Slopfest - Part 4 - Outsourcing to Microsoft, Approaching 10 Gigabytes
Can we blame Microsoft for those DDoS attacks? Partly.
SLAPP Censorship - Part 189 Out of 200: A Terrible Idea to Condemn Projects for Using Slop 'Code' When Your Own Employer Does This (and Profits From Every Company Doing So) or to Call Distros 'Not Secure' While You Advance Back Doors
"I don’t want a back door. I want a front door."
Software Freedom Day 2026 is Today, Week-long Celebration in Brazil
In Brazil, Clownflare reckons about 1 in 20 laptops/desktops might use GNU/Linux already
Red Hat Lost 2,000 Staff (Net Loss)
Maybe by year's end it'll be a 20% reduction
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, September 18, 2026
IRC logs for Friday, September 18, 2026
Gemini Links 18/09/2026: Setting Goals, Tiredness, and Admissions From LLM Purveyors It Was All Along About Building Plagiarism Engines Sold as "Intelligence"
Links for the day
Links 18/09/2026: Microsoft Boasted Slop is Just Copyright Infringement/Plagiarism, Floods in Europe
Links for the day
Slop Ruins Development and Reverse Engineering, It Rewards Retarded "Slop Kiddies" (to Quote Andy ‘TheFlow0’ Nguyen)
Slop is just a fatal cancer that kills the body, then dies with the body it killed
Internet Relay Chat (IRC) and Mailing Lists Are Still Better Than Discord, Slack, and Discourse
Discourse is "open" "bossware"
Links 18/09/2026: Disgust Over LLMs and Why "Agents" (Bots) Are Nothing More Than "Spam"
Links for the day
Software Freedom Day is Tomorrow
events coming
Illegal and Unconstitutional Tribunal That SLAPPs Critics Does the Illegal and Unconstitutional: It "Rubberstamps Software Patents"
This is not a legal system. This is mafia.
Privilege in 'Linux' Foundation (Double Standards) and What the FSF Should Avoid Doing
If RMS can talk about politics, others too should be able to talk about politics
Seems Like Many Microsoft Layoffs Are Going On Right Now (Forever Layoffs)
Like IBM, Microsoft hopes shareholders will not know of morale and financial problems
More Threats From the Person of Restricted Boot Infamy
Remember this is the man who is the principal purveyor of restricted boot and who landed restricted boot in Linux
Snooping EPO Management, Sniffing Up Every Staff Action
It this a problem for whistleblowers? Of course.
Don't Do That
Options do exist. People should exercise freedom.
Iran Has Debunked GAFAM and Cloud Computing as Safety of Data
Cloud of smoke?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, September 17, 2026
IRC logs for Thursday, September 17, 2026
SLAPP Censorship - Part 188 Out of 200: Used, Then Discarded, by Microsoft (as We Predicted All Along, It's Always Like That)
The longer they carry on with it, the more scandalous this will get
Linux Kernel Becoming a Slopfest - Part 3 - Besieged by LLM Bots, Now Hiding Behind a Wall of JavaScript
The series began 3 days ago
Gemini Links 18/09/2026: Modern Linguistic, Boxing, Turning 40, and Solar MiniServer
Links for the day