Instead they simply patent every technique they might encounter. This clutters the landscape and creates problems for other companies. IBM will be able to use very strong software patent portfolios to extract significant royalties and block competition by the rest of the industry. Patent infringement lawsuits made by people outside the industry are becoming an increasingly serious threat. Alpex holds a patent on video games that make use of rotating screen images.
Billings claims to have a patent covering the concept of a file server.
Software patents introduce a lot of uncertainty into the software development process. It is impossible to know if technology being invested in might be in the process of being patented, or exactly what these patents might cover, or if the patents would stand up in court. One area where this is of crucial concern today is the World Wide Web. Right now we don't know if some company has filed key patents that will cover the use of Web technology. If this is the case, the investment various companies are currently making in this area could be for nought.