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IBM's pragmatic embrace of open source

Abstract

Twenty years ago, it was unthinkable that IBM Corp. would release software products under the "free software" General Public License (GPL) or allow its software engineers to contribute to free or open source products. Yet, IBM has become a major contributor to the Linux operating system and has released the Eclipse suite of software tools under the GPL. This essay considers whether this shift is a response to Microsoft's dominance in the operating system market, a reflection of changed business models, or a new receptiveness to open innovation. IBM's embrace of open source certainly signals that competition in the software industry and the way that intellectual property rights are used have changed.

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