• The Four Hundred
  • Subscribe
  • Media Kit
  • Contributors
  • About Us
  • Contact
Menu
  • The Four Hundred
  • Subscribe
  • Media Kit
  • Contributors
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Patently Absurd: IBM Tries to Patent Outsourcing, Then Kills It

    October 8, 2007 Timothy Prickett Morgan

    Sometimes, you have to laugh so you don’t cry. Last week, Barron’s, the weekend investment rag put out by Dow Jones and the companion to the Wall Street Journal, picked up on a story in the Westchester County, New York-based News Journal that detailed a patent application that IBM filed on July 12 concerning business methods to perform technical and economic analysis and recommend outsourcing options to customers.

    India is, of course, the hot spot for outsourcing in the IT sector these days. IBM already has 55,000 employees in India, having added 10,000 new jobs this year in that country, and Sam Palmisano, IBM’s chairman and chief executive officer, is very much enamored of India because of the cost savings it brings to Big Blue’s own operations as well as those for the services engagements it does for other customers in their IT operations. Westchester County, as the News Journal points out, is where IBM’s own headquarters is located and many of its facilities are scattered around the county, which is north of New York City. Those IBM facilities have around 7,500 employees today–far fewer than IBM has in India, which had only a little over 9,000 IBMers four years ago. IBM has over 355,000 employees worldwide, and its presence in India is significant. These kinds of statistics make some people, who think IBM should do more employing back here in the States or in Europe, a bit crazy.

    In this case, IBM immediately came under some heat because of the lameness of the patent application and the fact that it was trying to patent the act of helping people outsource. And it immediately started backpedaling and explaining its actions. Bob Sutor, vice president of open source and standards at IBM, put out the following statement on his personal blog, an official communication medium, apparently.

    “IBM has put into the public domain and withdrawn its application for patent number US2007/0162321–Outsourcing of Services. This patent application covers analyzing work flows, skills, economic costs, etc. Here’s why we are withdrawing it. IBM adopted a new policy a year ago to sharply reduce business method patent filings and instead stress significant technical content in its patents. Even though the patent application in question was filed eight months before the policy took effect in September 2006, had the policy been in place at the time, IBM would not have filed the application. We’re glad the community pointed this application out so IBM could take swift action.”

    So now we can all figure out how to outsource our own jobs with a rigorous and professional methodology–and do so for free. I feel much better now. At least there is one less stupid patent in the world, and IBM deserves some credit for that.

    RELATED STORIES

    USPTO Elaborates on 2006’s Issued Patents and Backlog

    IBM Wins U.S. Patent Count Again as Vendors Build Up Patent War Chests

    Mad Dog 21/21: Patent Depending

    Mad Dog 21/21: Patent Lather

    IBM Tops U.S. Patent List for 13th Straight Year



                         Post this story to del.icio.us
                   Post this story to Digg
        Post this story to Slashdot

    Share this:

    • Reddit
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Email

    Tags: Tags: mtfh_rc, Volume16, Number 38 -- October 8, 2007

    Sponsored by
    WorksRight Software

    Do you need area code information?
    Do you need ZIP Code information?
    Do you need ZIP+4 information?
    Do you need city name information?
    Do you need county information?
    Do you need a nearest dealer locator system?

    We can HELP! We have affordable AS/400 software and data to do all of the above. Whether you need a simple city name retrieval system or a sophisticated CASS postal coding system, we have it for you!

    The ZIP/CITY system is based on 5-digit ZIP Codes. You can retrieve city names, state names, county names, area codes, time zones, latitude, longitude, and more just by knowing the ZIP Code. We supply information on all the latest area code changes. A nearest dealer locator function is also included. ZIP/CITY includes software, data, monthly updates, and unlimited support. The cost is $495 per year.

    PER/ZIP4 is a sophisticated CASS certified postal coding system for assigning ZIP Codes, ZIP+4, carrier route, and delivery point codes. PER/ZIP4 also provides county names and FIPS codes. PER/ZIP4 can be used interactively, in batch, and with callable programs. PER/ZIP4 includes software, data, monthly updates, and unlimited support. The cost is $3,900 for the first year, and $1,950 for renewal.

    Just call us and we’ll arrange for 30 days FREE use of either ZIP/CITY or PER/ZIP4.

    WorksRight Software, Inc.
    Phone: 601-856-8337
    Fax: 601-856-9432
    Email: software@worksright.com
    Website: www.worksright.com

    Share this:

    • Reddit
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Email

    Admin Alert: Remotely Accessing an HMC System Console, Part 1 looksoftware’s Modernization Suite Resembling a Full IDE

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

TFH Volume: 16 Issue: 38

This Issue Sponsored By

    Table of Contents

    • The Never-Ending Story: Enterprise Software Integration
    • IBM Offers System i Blade Deal, Nixes i5 550 in Upgrade Deal
    • Patently Absurd: IBM Tries to Patent Outsourcing, Then Kills It
    • IBM Tweaks BladeCenter S for the Office, Preps Power6 Blades
    • Lawson Profits on Booming Software Sales Despite U.S. Weakness
    • Growing Businesses, Upgrades Drive IT Hiring in Q4
    • BluePhoenix Hosts ASNAPalooza in San Antonio This Week
    • As I See It: Great Looking Genes
    • Gartner Warns IT Is Running Out of Space and Juice–Again
    • The Never-Ending Story: Enterprise Software Integration

    Content archive

    • The Four Hundred
    • Four Hundred Stuff
    • Four Hundred Guru

    Recent Posts

    • IBM i Delivers Sizable Benefits, Forrester Consulting Reports
    • SBOMs Will Come to IBM i, Eventually
    • IBM i Backup Provider Storagepipe Snapped Up By Thrive
    • Four Hundred Monitor, June 7
    • IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 25, Number 23
    • Power10 Boosts NVM-Express Flash Performance
    • Fortra Completes Postmortem Of GoAnywhere Vulnerability
    • Guru: Binding Directory Entries
    • How Does Your Infrastructure Spending Stack Up To The World?
    • IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 25, Number 22

    Subscribe

    To get news from IT Jungle sent to your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter.

    Pages

    • About Us
    • Contact
    • Contributors
    • Four Hundred Monitor
    • IBM i PTF Guide
    • Media Kit
    • Subscribe

    Search

    Copyright © 2023 IT Jungle