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

European Patent Office (EPO) Series: London Calling...
EPO Vice-President in charge of the "Patent Granting Process" is likely to have been a pay-off for the support which the UK gave to Campinos in 2017
Faking Productivity With Slop and Wasting Money on Faking 'Productivity': A Microsoft Story
If the quality of everything at Microsoft goes down
 
More Weight of IBM's Stock is Ascribed to Lies and Things That Do Not Exist
Turning stones into gold?
SLAPP Censorship - Part 118 Out of 200: Exposing Crimes is Not a Crime, It is a Public Service
We will soon enter the sixth year of lawfare
Links 25/06/2026: "Why We Need Seed Legislation" and XBox Chaos Predicted by Insiders
Links for the day
Gemini Links 25/06/2026: Hobbies Change, Young love, Strange Encounter, and Raspberry Pi Zero W
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, June 24, 2026
IRC logs for Wednesday, June 24, 2026
Don the Con Meets the Conman From IBM, Shares of IBM Continue Sliding Some More
The "Quantum" hype did not last long [...] PIPs are the new layoffs
Retaliatory Whistleblowing Expected at Microsoft During or After the Mass Layoffs
Retaliatory behaviour by Microsoft will backfire
Gemini Links 24/06/2026: Heatwave, Steam Next Fest, and Year of Buying Guitar Pedals
Links for the day
Links 24/06/2026: China Tops "TOP500", Impact of Microsoft’s Massive Layoffs Extends Further, Internet Society's Community Snapshot
Links for the day
While Thousands at IBM Lose Their Jobs ("Silent Layoffs") IBM's CEO Goes Begging the Dictator for Bailouts, Based on Deliberate Lies About "Quantum"
Many who claim to be retiring are only in their 40s and 50s. They're too proud to publicly admit what IBM did to them.
IBM Sends Workers 'Packing', Sometimes With the "Low Performer" Label That Imperils Their Future
To many people out there, IBM correlates with deceit
Links 24/06/2026: Four-Day Workweeks, GM Cut 1,000 Workers at Its EV Plant, 21,000+ Oracle Layoffs
Links for the day
A Step in the Right Direction (EU) in the Fight Against LLM Slop From GAFAM (US)
We've already mentioned this in Daily Links, but let's discuss this a little further
SLAPP Censorship - Part 117 Out of 200: Libel Tourism or Defamation Forum-Shopping in the United Kingdom Condemned by the European Union (EU)
Last week we reminded readers that the EU had criticised UK defamation law
Demonstration Next Week at the European Patent Office (EPO), Administrative Council Seen as Complicit
Corruption in Europe hurts all of us
IBM is Now Hinged on False Accounting and False Promises
This is the legacy of the current CEO
"PARTNER CONTENT" or 'Content Farms' That Promote Slop and Misinformation (The Register MS)
The Register MS represents a big part of the problem we all face
Wikipedia - Like Some Free Software Projects Infiltrated and Bribed - Bans Its Own Founder
Over the years we've named (not shamed) some projects and organisations that got corrupted by money and ended up banning their own founders
Turn Off the Slop, It's Wasting Energy and Destroying the Planet (the Only Planet We Have)
Right now we see lots of headlines about energy shortages and drained-up reserves
Lessons From Almost 30 Years of Site-Building Activities
We still strive to become faster and lighter
Do Not Outsource (the Seductive Mirage)
Abandoning so-called 'conventional wisdom'
Media Complicit in IBM Fraud Meant to Prop Up the Share Price Based on Lies, Fabrications
Even IBM insiders are fuming at this
The “Aktion T4” at the European Patent Office (EPO) Saves Money for the President's Own Purse
Call for parents of children with special needs
In Some Countries, Windows Has Lost Its Monopoly
Windows fell to an all-time low globally this month
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, June 23, 2026
IRC logs for Tuesday, June 23, 2026
Gemini Links 24/06/2026: Motivation, PostScript Printer, and Why Hyperscalers and the Smolnet are Compatible
Links for the day
The Media's "Satya Says" Syndrome Distracts From Grim Reality
how insiders see Microsoft slop
Oracle's Collapse Has Nothing to do With Slop, It's About Its Debt Exploding by Almost 50% in Just 12 Months
How are people meant to trust the media?
SLAPP Censorship - Part 116 Out of 200: 5 Years of Multiparty Lawfare Against Techrights, Funded by Americans and Also by Third Parties (Including Microsoft Salaries)
The public and our government will be informed in full
Now... a Word From Our Sponsor
Powerade
Links 23/06/2026: Microsoft Studio Closures and Journalism Subjected to Further Cuts
Links for the day
Gemini Links 23/06/2026: Gardens, Basketball, Blocking Hyperscaler, and New Commodore Phone
Links for the day
Links 23/06/2026: Apple Price Hikes and Technical Debt in Slop
Links for the day
After IBM's Shares Collapsed the CEO is Trying the "Quantum" Trick Again, Bolstered by a Demented Dictator in the White House
from what we can gather IBM's CEO is trying to get the US government to participate in the scam
Greece Ought to Curb the Threat of Social Control Media
its national discourse seems to be run by an American company called Facebook
State of the GNU/Linux Desktop (and Laptop)
The time to advocate GNU/Linux is now
The 'XBox Narrative' Distracts From Destructive Cuts Across the Whole of Microsoft
Microsoft is preparing to lay off a likely record-breaking number of people [...] this isn't just an XBox problem
SLAPP Censorship - Part 115 Out of 200: Spending the Next Decade Writing About SLAPPs and Trying to Fix the System
It's the same industry that got paid by corrupt EPO officials to try to cover up the corruption
Microsoft's Stock Fell Nearly $200, But the Real Problems Are Just About to Begin
if they dump slop, what will they tell shareholders?
The Cyber Show on Starmer and Software Freedom
The Cyber Show's Andy has just explained why our departing national leader wasn't all bad
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, June 22, 2026
IRC logs for Monday, June 22, 2026
Gemini Links 23/06/2026: Girlrotting, Homeworlds at BGA, Slop Ruins Sites
Links for the day