IBM frees 500 patents
Hyderabad: IBM has announced that it has pledged to open access to key innovations covered by 500 IBM software patents to individuals and groups working on open source software.

The pledge is applicable to any individual, community, or company working on or using software that meets the Open Source Initiative (OSI) definition of open source software now or in the future.

IBM intends this pledge to form the basis of an industry-wide patent commons in which patents are used to establish a platform for further innovations in areas of broad interest to information technology developers and users, according to a company statement.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has released its annual list of the top patentees. With 3,248, IBM earned more US patents than any other company for the twelfth consecutive year. This is the fourth consecutive year IBM has received more than 3,000 US patents and remains the only company to receive more than 2,000 patents in a year.

IBM invests approximately $5 billion annually in research and development.
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Yukos threatens ONGC with legal action
Moscow: The Yukos Oil Company has reportedly threatened to sue Indian oil and gas major ONGC if it goes ahead with plans to pick up stake in its core asset Yugansk. The Russian company has said that anyone who bids for the unit will be face legal action. This is part of the general threat of legal action that it has issuing to all and sundry ever since its unit, Yugansk, was auctioned off by the Russian government.

ONGC officials had earlier indicated that the company was eyeing 10-15 per cent stake in Yugansk. ONGC has an agreement with Rosneft, which acquired Yugansk and it may farm into one of the oil fields of Yugansk.
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