PBS Inventors Martin Goetz, Holder of the First Software Patent

Photographer David Friedman of PBS INVENTORS interviewed Martin Goetz, the software pioneer who was issued the first patent for software in 1968. Goetz and his company Applied Data Research used the patent to compete against large computer companies, which at the time bundled free software with their mainframes, making competition by small companies difficult. As software patents have become controversial, Goetz gave his unique perspective on the controversy in a ZDNet opinion piece in 2011.

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