Jane Edwards
IBM announced that it is offering free access to its portfolio of patents to help companies, scientists and other innovators develop technologies that could be used to detect, prevent and treat COVID-19.
The portfolio includes thousands of artificial intelligence patents, including patents related to Watson, and dozens of U.S. patents related to biological viruses, Mark Ringes, a vice president and assistant general counsel for intellectual property law at IBM, wrote in a blog post published Monday.
The company’s move is part of its participation in the Open COVID Pledge, a program that seeks to encourage organizations to offer the public free access to their IP to help put an end to the coronavirus pandemic.
“IBM’s pledge will last for the life of our more than 80,000 patents and patent applications, and any new patent applications filed through the end of 2023 will likewise be covered by this commitment,†Ringes wrote.
