IBM patents way to make money on patents
We were joking when we wrote about Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos' one-click patent system for taking out obvious patents. IBM — which holds more patents than anyone — just submitted an idea for "a system and methods for extracting value from a portfolio of assets, for example a patent portfolio." IBM pictures a system for purchasing licensing rights "like fire insurance." In other words, companies could buy the rights to a patent portfolio like IBM's as a legal shield against patent trolls. OK, but will we be able to do it with one click? (Photo by AP/Mark Lennihan)