IBM, others push for greater U.S. innovation
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The U.S. needs to overhaul its education system to encourage innovation and focus more federal funding on high-risk research to maintain a competitive edge over other nations, according to a report endorsed by leading U.S. companies and universities.
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Officials announced the launch of an IBM Innovation Center in Beijing Thursday to find better ways to get software from ISVs (define) around the world into the computers of small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in China.
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IBM is the latest storage giant to step up efforts to woo IT buyers, promising partitioning capabilities cribbed from its mainframe heritage, as well as space-saving formats and better server connectivity.
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Advanced Micro Devices and IBM have collaborated on new strained silicon technology, which stands to boost transistor speed. In a statement ahead of the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting in San Francisco
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Some tech groups are beginning to worry that major IT industry priorities, including patent reform, may lose out to other priorities in the U.S. Congress this year.In the last couple of weeks, large tech companies have renewed their push for patent reform legislation in the U.S. Congress, despite opposition from U.S. President George Bush&#39;s administration and some labor unions.The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) is concerned that a congressional debate over an economic stimulus package, plus typical election-year gridlock, could hurt the prospects for patent reform and other tech priorities, said Michael Wendy, a spokesman for the trade group.The House of Representatives&#39; economic stimulus package includes tax write-offs for small business purchase of equipment, which could include computers, Wendy said. That&#39;s a good move, but patent reform, a research and development tax credit, H-1B visa reform, and other issues remain undone, he said.&quot;We hope that Congress -- assuming they pass an [economic stimulus] package -- doesn&#39;t just say, &#39;Well, we gave you some favorable tax provisions that will help boost industry activity and have a long-tail effect on the economy, so that should be enough for you guys this session,&#39;&quot; Wendy said last week. &quot;One thing we&#39;re concerned about is that the economic stimulus bill may be seen by Congress as a &#39;get out of jail free&#39; card when it comes to other of our tech policy agenda.&quot;The House in September passed a patent reform bill -- supported by many large tech vendors, but&#160;opposed by several small tech companies&#160;-- but similar legislation has been stalled in the Senate. Large tech vendors, including Microsoft, IBM, and Symantec, have&#160;called for patent reform, saying it&#39;s too easy for companies with no intention of creating products to buy up patents and file multimillion-dollar infringement lawsuits against other companies.On Jan. 22, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said patent reform was a priority, but it was in a line behind several other bills, including an economic stimulus package and a government surveillance authorization bill. The Senate would turn to patent reform, &quot;time permitting,&quot; he said then.&quot;On patent reform, we must carefully strike the right balance with a bill that promotes rather than blocks innovation from enterprising entrepreneurs,&quot; Reid added.The Senate Judiciary Committee approved its version of the Patent Reform Act on Jan. 24, and the bill is awaiting action in the full Senate.But earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Commerce sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee raising concerns about the bill. The letter, outlining the Bush administration&#39;s views, focused on a section of the bill that would apportion infringement damages in a new way. Currently, courts generally consider the value of the entire product when a small piece of the product infringes a patent; the bill would allow courts to base damages only on the value of the infringing piece.The wide-ranging bill would also allow a new way to challenge patents after they are issued.That provision would &quot;create more problems than it solves,&quot; said the Commerce Department letter, signed by Nathaniel Wienecke, the agency&#39;s assistant secretary for legislative and intergovernmental affairs. &quot;The administration believes that such a dramatic change from current jurisprudence may have the unintended consequence of reducing the rewards of innovation and encouraging patent infringement,&quot; Wienecke wrote.Both sides can still work out their differences, Wienecke added.In addition, 14 labor unions, including the United Steelworkers, the Patent Office Professional Association and the Communications Workers of America, sent a letter to Senators Wednesday, saying they were concerned about the patent bill. &quot;Key parts of the proposed legislation may have the effect of increasing the likelihood of American inventions being stolen by our international competitors and, consequently, inhibiting sorely needed new investment in domestic manufacturing,&quot; the letter said.Still, some representatives of the tech industry say they&#39;re hopeful that patent reform can move forward.Senators, representatives of the Bush administration and other interested parties have been meeting regularly &quot;to find balanced solutions on all the issues,&quot; said Mark Isakowitz, spokesman for the Coalition for Patent Fairness, a group representing several large tech companies. &quot;We respectfully disagree [with the Bush administration] on damages, but we are confident ... we can work through concerns and achieve broad consensus on the bill, which would be a victory for the administration, the Congress and our economy,&quot; he added.
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SEPTEMBER 21, 2004  - To better position themselves to win future US government IT contracts, IBM and The Boeing Co.
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A plan to help network various consumer devices is getting a boost this week thanks to a newly formed group of consumer electronics companies and chipmakers.
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IBM  plans to unveil on Thursday a group of partners to promote its Power computer chips in a range of electronics, seeking to bring the community-minded innovation of Linux software to hardware.
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IBM IBM.N plans to unveil on  Thursday a group of partners to promote its Power computer  chips in a range of electronics, seeking to bring the  community-minded innovation of Linux software to hardware.
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IBM Corp. is introducing a range of new products and services, many based on technologies coming from recently acquired companies, aimed at helping businesses better manage and take advantage of their various software and hardware systems.
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IBM, HP, Sun and Manhattan Associates head the list of vendors launching new products and services at this week's EPCglobal U.S. Conference 2004 in Baltimore.
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IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced a first of its kind programming contest for college and university students in 25 different countries, offering cash prizes and awards for the most innovative applications of the breakthrough Cell Broadband Engine(TM) (Cell/B.E.).
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U.S. patent leader IBM said late on Monday it plans to donate 500 patents for free use by software developers, marking a major shift of intellectual property strategy for the world's top computer maker and a challenge to the high-tech industry.
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U.S. patent leader IBM said late  on Monday it plans to donate 500 patents for free use by  software developers, marking a major shift of intellectual  property strategy for the world's top computer maker and a  challenge to the high-tech industry.
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(InfoWorld) - Innovation may be tough to define, but the best way to encourage it is to get rid of industry regulations and trade barriers, a group of IT-focused analysts said Wednesday. The U.S. must do a better job of encouraging innovation, said panelists at an ACT (Association for Competitive Technology) forum. But the speakers didn't all agree on how to accomplish that goal. Despite many U.S. lawmakers recently trumpeting their innovation agendas, the problem is that no one has a good way to define and copy innovation, said Veronique de Rugy, a fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. "We know what it does, but we don't know what it is." ACT, an advocacy group representing small and medium-sized IT vendors, released a report on Wednesday calling for the U.S. government to embrace three policies to promote innovation: robust intellectual property protection, market-based international trade, and minimal competition regulation. Countries enacting those three policies, including the U.S., have created the best environments for innovation in the IT industry and other sectors, said Steve DelBianco, ACT's vice president for public policy. DelBianco decried efforts in other countries to block imports of U.S. technology. Countries like France and Norway,Â which have complained about how Apple has tied its iTunes music download service to its iPod player, are attempting to regulate an innovative service for the benefit of a handful of local vendors, he said. Many countries are looking for ways to cultivate innovation, he said. "The answers they seek will not be found in protectionism and centralized industrial policy, but in creating an environment that rewards innovations and embraces competition," he added. While ACT called on governments to take a deregulatory approach to trade and competition, it asked the U.S. and other governments to take action to protect its members' intellectual property. One major problem is the U.S. government doesn't see the large picture when other countries act to stifle U.S. products, said Robert Atkinson, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation think tank. The U.S. reacts in a piecemeal fashion with trade complaints, but it doesn't seem to recognize that tariffs may be part of a national policy against U.S. products, he said. During a recent visit to India, Atkinson told IT leaders there that they depend on the U.S. to fuel their outsourcing industry, but the country maintained the second highest tariff worldwide on the import of U.S. computers. Indian leaders disputed Atkinson's numbers. Atkinson suggested the U.S. government shouldÂ take more action in pointing out such trade imbalances. "I think we're falling asleep at the switch in the U.S.," he said.
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Big Blue's decision to open patents to public scrutiny could spur innovation.
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IBM is expanding and adding new  technology to 11 of its data centers in North America, Europe  and Asia to meet growing demand and rolled out new services to  customers, the world's largest computer company said late on  Thursday.