IBM filed another 8,000 patents in 2016 IBM’s lawyers were busy little bees last year, getting a shade more than 8,000 patent applications granted for Big Blue’s American brainboxes. IBM claims its inventors were granted an average of 22 patents per day in 2016, scoring a total of 8,088 patents. Of those patents, 2,700 were related to AI, cognitive computing and …
It all depends on how much of those billions you're willing to spend on lobbyists (bribery middlemen) to keep the laws you plan to transgress in your favour. The petroleum/sugar/cigarette/cattle/corn/etc industries have been playing fast and loose for decades all on the good things money can buy; government regulatory influence. At least IBM produces products based on their own discoveries, or you may license them and make your own without fear of patent law getting you down.
How hard is that?
#!/bin/bash
#usage: <start> <end> <unit> <object> <patent name> <enable_troll>
reg_patent($1 $2 $3 $4 $5)
troll_mode = $6
if troll_mode = true
book_flight_to_texas()
fi
/===END==/
./generate_patent 100 300 nm corner_radius "Rounded Corners" TRUE
Registering 100nm rounded corners...done!
Lawsuits...filed!
Flight to Texas...booked!
Registering 101nm rounded corners...done!
Lawsuits...filed!
Flight to Texas...failed!
Troll unsuccesful...[A]bort / [T]hrow more lawyers at it.
Flight to Texas...Booked!
...
A lot of the patents they get are new ways to prolong the lives of their antiquated technologies. Like creating a self-driving steam train.
IBM encourages its employees to file patents, whether they are actually useful or not. It's all about the headlines. That said, they have acquired some useful technologies over recent years.
Every medium or large company encourages its employees to file patents on anything they think they can get a patent on. Not because of headlines, but because it helps them defend against patent lawsuits (frivolous or not) and because you never know if something might turn out to be a real earner someday.
What is not given is how many of the applications will actually become patents. This is not a quibble. In the US, a couple of hundred dollars and properly filled-out paperwork will get you an application (no patent agent needed if you are the inventor). Since only a small percentage actually make any money, you may as well file boatloads.
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