In 1968, nearly a decade after he and several other partners started the company Applied Data Research, Martin Goetz received his patent, for data-sorting software for mainframes. It was major news in the industry: An article in Computerworld magazine bore the headline "First Patent Is Issued for Software, Full Implications Are Not Known."
In 1968, nearly a decade after he and several other partners started the company Applied Data Research, Goetz received his patent, for data-sorting software for mainframes.
Martin Goetz, who received the first software patent, dies at 93 bostonglobe.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from bostonglobe.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
“I knew at some point in time the patent office would recognize” computer software, he said. It happened in 1968, helping to ignite the software market.