-----Original Message----- From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Alan Altmark Sent: Thursday, December 07, 2006 10:39 AM To: IBM-MAIN@BAMA.UA.EDU Subject: Re: IBM sues maker of Intel-based Mainframe clones
<SNIP> Companies threaten each other all the time. That's how progress is made. :-) But anti-trust is a far cry from intellectual property protection. IMO, a company has every right to protect its patents, doesn't it? "Anti-trust" implies an *unfair* control of the market. It isn't clear to me that preventing patent infringement would be unfair. If that were the case, there would be no incentive to have patents in the first place. Licenses to them are bargaining chips in B2B relationships, whether exchanged for licenses to others' patents or for cash. The licensing of patents is part of IBM's business model. This is discussed in good detail in the 2005 Annual Report ( ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/annualreport/2005/2005_ibm_annual.pdf). As an IBM stockholder, I really do hope they don't allow someone else to duplicate or use patented technology for their financial benefit without compensation. If they derive a benefit, then so, too, should IBM. I expect the same of every company I invest in; *I* expect them to protect *my* investment. And if licensing the technology to someone else would hurt more than it would help, then I see no compelling reason to license it. <SNIP> I think the problem here is an understanding by some (right or wrong) that IBM is NOT licensing patents that apply to z/ARCHITECTURE. This is where an idea would come from of anti-trust or monopolizing the market. Some entities have felt that IBM is running away from the low end market, and could see where they could get business in that area that would possibly grow. Now if those customers grew in size (or in "MIPS" demand), those small processor providers could grow in MIPS supplied. In my view, it is IBM preventing this from happening is where the concern is. Later, Steve Thompson ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
