IBM offers access to its patents for certain uses

IBM Corp. is set to unveil an initiative today that will allow royalty-free access to its 45,000 patents for computer software developers who are seeking to create new healthcare and education applications around open standards.

IBM officials said the move is an effort to spur interoperability between software systems, which could help hospitals and schools better integrate patient and student records. Interoperable standards have been stymied because developers can't use technology based on patents held by companies invested in proprietary systems, said Sean C. Rush, general manager of the IBM Global Education Industry unit in Waltham.

Rush said many of IBM's software patents can be useful to developers of Web services, open document formats, and electronic forms, all products that could improve efficiency in education and healthcare. IBM, which opened its campaign to support open standards last January by pledging royalty-free access to 500 patents, is hoping that advances in interoperability will help it market grid networks, business process consulting, and service-oriented architecture to institutions.

''We would encourage other companies to join us in this initiative," Rush said. ''The impact could be pretty profound."

Robert Weisman can be reached at weisman@globe.com.