NBC "10 pm" and IBM "wall of patents": similar strategies?

There has been much discussion of NBC placing Jay Leno in the 10pm time slot. The NYT observed that Leno was pulling a 1.5 to 2 rating in the category NBC identifies as all-important, viewers ages 18 to 49 and further stated:

Though most 10 p.m. shows with those kinds of numbers get canceled, NBC has said from the beginning that it could accept much lower ratings because of the enormous cost savings of Mr. Leno’s show versus expensive hourlong scripted dramas. The network guaranteed advertisers that it would average only a 1.5 rating.

In its patent strategy, IBM gets lots of patents, although any given one of them is not exactly a game-changer in the innovation world. Much as NBC now avoids "expensive hourlong scripted dramas," IBM does not go for the detailed, world-changing patent applications. At the end of the day, for either NBC or IBM, the objective is optimizing money-making, not changing the world. Smaller inventors, who rely on the patent office to give them entry into the free market system, are also trying to make money, but they are trying to do so by changing the world.

See also


Oct. 11 "Cold Case" a knock-off of Law & Order SVU [The NBC vs. CBS drama saga of 2009 says a lot about the
myth of first mover advantage.]


Demise of the (anti-)Doughnut campaign: a parable of patent reform? with
The Tragedy of Krispy Kreme [Also debunks the myth of first mover advantage. And, does the line -- A new junk-food craze involves a bacon cheeseburger sandwiched between two Krispy Kremes (Original Glazed). -- portend the next patent application craze?]