Patent

Patenting Software Security Fixes

The Register reports on a company called Intellectual Weapons, which offers to patent fixes for newly discovered security vulnerabilities, weaknesses, or technical flaws in software. Then the company will seek to license the fixes to vendors of the vulnerable products and other security providers.

Intellectual Weapons describes their process:

1. You submit vulnerabilities you have discovered, without telling anyone else.
2. If we accept them, we work together to develop a fix.
3. We develop intellectual property relating to the fix, and license or enforce it
4. You share in the profits

The company acknowledges enforcement may be tough:

Enforcing the IP may not be straightforward-we fully anticipate major battles. . . .We only want people who dare to play for high stakes.

© 2007 Eric Waltmire’s Blog.