One of the greatest tech movements in history has been open-source software. At the birth of the movement many scoffed and thought that making source code available for free would lead to the financial demise of those who shared their code.

The following NY Times article explores how many companies (IBM, DuPont, and others) known for innovation are following suit with open innovation. They are opening virtual communities for discussion on ‘green’ topics. They are involving communities, and in the process pledging their environmental patents for common use. After all, many of these patents have to do with sustainability, and sharing them makes them more effective.