I never realized how easy it is to patent something, until I started working for IBM. There is a really great program there that rewards employees for patents filed and articles published. It benefits the company because it can keep continuing its reigning championship of “Most Patents Awarded to a Company Ever”, and it benefits you because you get money. Every so often I realize how ridiculous patents really are and I am seriously amazed by the things that actually get patented. I can’t tell if lawyers reading these ideas are seriously interested and believe in the system, or if they laugh all the way to the USPTO with your application.

IBM recently announced its patent leadership is now up to its 20th year in a row. There is an IBM Tumblr with some posts dedicated to the inventive spirit of the company, and you can go there to learn more about it. Or you can stick around here and read my latest IBM internal comic poking fun of some patents that may or may not exist.