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IBM Ditches Outsourcing Patent
Xenographic writes "IBM has dropped their controversial outsourcing patent, both withdrawing the application and placing it into the public domain. Apparently, it was filed eight months before they implemented more stringent reviews of their patent applications so as to avoid filing for obvious patents, especially business method patents. The notice also says that they would like to thank the community for bringing it to their attention."
Apparently, it was filed eight months before they implemented more stringent reviews of their patent applications so as to avoid filing for obvious patents, especially business method patents.
As a matter of fact, they've patented their stringent review process, and would like to take this opportunity to tout their reasonable patent review process licensing terms.
The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
Not seeing anyone comment on this yet - I think everyone must feel the same as me.
Speechless.
Kudos to IBM.
It's great to see IBM doing things that help the company get a good reputation. So many companies seem to be self-defeating. For example, Apple decided to tie the iPhone to AT&T, the new name for SBC.
I remember when IBM used to be a great company that made quality products. The people there were devoted to IBM, and IBM to them. They were a good corporate system, and stood behind rock, solid quality products.
Then people left, and standards dropped. They got into cheap and nasty manufacturing (The IBM "DeathStar" Hard Drives), and knowingly kept selling defective hard drives. The old IBM would have never done that. Now they don't even make PCs anymore. All that's left is just another outsourcing company, at that, one that fires workers whenever they want to boost their share price. Their CEO is rumoured to be readying to fire workers and transfer the bulk of jobs to India. This is why outsourcing is so important to them.
http://www.infoworld.com/article/05/11/04/HNpalmisanoindia_1.html
I am so happy to see a company do the right thing. This is truly a remarkable testament to the fact that IBM wishes to be a good corporate system and worthy steward of intellectual and technological advancement in the world.
I say, "Hat's Off"!
Thank You IBM!
Over-the-top Response Guy! Giving "Over-the-Top Responses" since 1970.
It's OK for a company to make money. It's OK for a company to want to make money. It's OK for a company to "push the envelope" to make money.
It is also OK for all of us to PUSH BACK! With words. With our purchases. With actions.
A good company will respond to the wishes of the public and will no when they are about to step over a line the public will not stand for. Admitting they are wrong is a good thing.
Does it mean they won't try something similar in the future? Perhaps, but, that is not the point. The point is that they will respect the voice of the public if the public makes itself heard.
That is really all we can ask for. It is good that things like Slashdot and the rest of the internet allow us all to so unequivocally express our displeasure and let it be known that we feel a company's actions are overstepping what WE THE PEOPLE feel is appropriate.
It is good that a company can get such a clear message to provide them appropriate moral and ethical direction.
Over-the-top Response Guy! Giving "Over-the-Top Responses" since 1970.
IBM patented outsourcing, but have now outsourced the patent to the Open Sourcers?
Well, what goes around, comes around.....:)
Apparently, it was filed eight months before they implemented more stringent reviews of their patent applications so as to avoid filing for obvious patents, especially business method patents.
Wow... so they did that? Now I know, IBM is a corporation as any, working for profit, and they probably had reasons better than altruism to drop a patent that could cause them issues in court in the future.
But I almost shed a tear reading this, a company giving up on a patent on their own since they consider it obvious. Next thing you know, we'll be allowed to do things with a single click.
They got caught trying to wipe their dicks in the cookie jar, and now they're acting altruistic about it.
With the current public opinion on outsourcing (i.e. they're stealing our jobs) IBM knows that they'll come off badly in the press. So the yellow-bellies at IBM backed down.
They're not just evil, they're sneaky too.
Read radical news here
He would just smirk and shrug.
Patents Drive Free Software as Hurricanes Drive Construction Industry
Is this the one? In which case all they were patenting was an application that worked out which bits of the company you could outsource. It seems very vague to say the least.
I have excellent Karma and I am not afraid to Troll it.
Bitter? Twisted? Join the IBM bashing. Yes - there will be jobs outsourced to India, China, Eastern Europe, Africa...indeed anywhere where there are cheaper skilled workers to provide service. That's the way that services companies (all of them...not just IBM) win their business. How many American companies do you know that would choose to pay more for their services to keep the jobs at the supplier in the US?
But IBM is more than just a services company...it does have a social conscience (world community grid, OO.o, patents, support for Linux etc etc), it produces some fantastic technology (System z mainframes, some of the best Unix boxes, some amazing software)...it does real research, not just product development, but real, pure research into physics, computer science...it is actively promoting green computing.
Sure - it's not perfect, there are always bits of a large corporate that are going to be "evil"(TM), I for one am glad that IBM is not a M$, or a SCO etc.
And yes, I do work for IBM, so I am biased. I do feel for my colleagues who are being outsourced...but I know that IBM will do its utmost to find them good jobs.
I know its just part of the corporate game, yet it still gives me the fuzzies when a company does the right thing make something right
... It's OK for a company to "push the envelope" to make moneyDoes this mean that it is OK for a thief to try to steal your precious laptop when you aren't looking, and only return it if you start yelling?
A patent is a monopoly - a restriction of freedom. Supposedly, a patent must document some useful knowledge that was not widely known before. For certain pieces of knowledge, some people might say that they can accept having to withstand a monopoly. But if a patent does not offer anything useful (ie it documents some knowledge that is widely available), then a monopoly on this knowledge would damage the economy and the culture of a country. In such a case, a useless patent on an obvious idea restricts your freedom so much that the patent holder is not very different than a thief. The patent holder of an obvious idea steals your freedom.
So, do you still think it's okay for a company to attempt to steal your freedom when you are busy with something else and you aren't paying much attention? If you notice and you start yelling at them, and they give you back your freedom (revoke the patent themselves), do you feel that you should really thank them?
There are some companies that will attempt to patent anything under the Sun and refuse to cancel their patents even if people take notice - these are the very bad guys. Some other companies will attempt the same but will voluntarily cancel their patents if you catch them - these are the mildly bad guys. A few other companies will never attempt to steal anything from you in the first place and will try to earn their place in the marketplace through respectable and ethical means - these are the good guys, and they are the ones that you should thank.
> The notice also says that they would like to thank the community for bringing it to their attention.
Sure they would. I think this is a similar kind of thanks that schoolkids were supposed to give on receiving a beating: "thank you sir, may i have another"
http://rareformnewmedia.com/
No, you are correct. I hadn't considered that angle. Very good point.
Why do companies get a pass when they try to do something deceitful and underhanded?
Over-the-top Response Guy! Giving "Over-the-Top Responses" since 1970.
The outsource of their security services or is that owned by the Unisys team?
Serious note: Big kudos to IBM on dropping this. IMO it shouldn't have been attempted to been patented in the first place, but at least for whatever reason it was dropped overall.
News Reporters Make Tasty Polar Bear Treats!
I wish...my company probably would not pay for licensing of that process...then we'd HAVE to get rid of the idiots we have working overseas.
IBM used to be the Great Stan of Hardware and MS the Little Stan of Software, at least in many Mac users' eyes, but for many years now, IBM seems to have shifted over and joined the good guys (Apple is officially a GOOD company, right...?) Mainly, most likely, because it is good business practice, and IBM is the number one money machine, so good publicity = more respect = more money in the bank. Well in this case, you've earned it. Hats off to you, old IBM. I have always had the greatest respect for Big Blue, even during the Dark Ages in the 1990. It IS a rather austere but serious company.
Beauty is in the beholder of the eye.
I wish IBM has kept this patent, and sat on it, or at least not allowed others use of it.
Outsourcing = layoffs.
Anything making it harder to layoff American workers is good.
This is not a slam on other countries, but to see people in my country getting kicked out of work left and right is disheartening.
You work for IBM.
.Sorry for the rant, but after seeing what's happening at IBM recently, I have nothing nice to say about them. ..Though they get nice PR at Slashdot, but working conditions for "real workers" are horrible. ...Didn't IBM steal their blade server technology from Tandem?
So are you an IBMer, an LTS (Long-Term Supplemental), or contractor (the lowest of the low)? I would really like to know. I used to work at IBM.
There is a very big reason IBM is leading the way to unionizing the IT field, management is treating employees like crap at that company. CWA Local 1701 (Communication Workers of America, http://www.allianceibm.org/).
They are NOT outsourcing to skilled offshore workers. Case in point, American operators require 2 years of experience plus degree, or four years experience plus. The Brazillion operators they are offshoring to (starting with the Nissan account, loved that project), the ONLY requirement they had: Speaking English.
That isn't uncommon when dealing with the fresh Indian Programmers. Many people billed as offshore "skilled" labor have less training than American staff. I spent many hours cleaning up others messes, still bitter.
As for your misleading statement that "IBM will do its utmost to find [the outsourced] good jobs", I call pure bullshit on that. IBM freezes hiring months before layoffs, so that people can not change to different departments or jobs. LEAN is not working, and if you are one of the idiots that think it's helping IBM, you are obviously not one of the people doing the job 4 people did a year ago because of LEAN.
I left because I did not like working 12-14 hours a day 7 days a week. For three months straight.
I still have friends at IBM, and situations are not getting better.
Quick, they are changing something. The agents are coming
I will release into public domain my wiping my ass with paper patent and let you all continue on, business as usual.
I won't buy it. Here in Brazil, you can't get any decent job just for speaking english. Here you must have at least your said degree, or in the process of getting one, and your 2 years of experience to get anything half-decent. Unless these jobs are crapy een for brazillian standards. It's cheaper to get someone here with the same years of study than you could get there. If they put stupid people in the job, it isn't because that was their only choice, there is good people here. They may be cutting more costs than just outsourcing would do, or perhaps they just are not very good in searching.
I really wanted to see IBM and Accenture battle it out in court.
I have never worked for IBM but I have worked at callcenters that were opened here in Mexico as outsourcing operations and the requirements for a job are usually as stringent here as in the US, and the fact is that finding someone qualified for a job (and that is bilingual to boot) is just as hard than in the US.
The thing is, that when you do find one you'll be able to hire him for less money and the whole has less turnover rates (and therefore reduced training costs) than a comparable callcenter in the US.
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