IBM made this announcement today, regarding granting universal access to intellectual property that might be necessary in implementing interoperability standards.

This is a significant event in the industry, and we hope will result in an acceleration of interoperability innovation. The OSA has always maintained that interoperability is a challenge best met with collective action, and this requires a certain open, collaborative spirit and willingness to share ideas. We are pleased that IBM recognizes this too, and applaud this move on their part. By helping remove the fear, uncertainty and doubt associated with patent litigation, developers around the world are further empowered to collaborate and contribute their ideas to this common cause. It is unfortunate that some vendors have chosen to take a different approach. But we see IBM's move as a positive step in the industry and hope to see other major vendors to follow with similar policies.