Interesting Patents: IBM’s Copy and Paste Enhancement

About the Patent Application

IBM is working on an enhancement of the copy and paste method that could alter the way we share files on networks. IBM’s patent discloses a new method of copy-and-pasting large file sets. The system is set up to work between multiple cloud-based computerized environments as a third-party processor to process software objects.

The system is composed of two clipboards, a logical clipboard, and a physical clipboard, where the user interacts with the logical clipboard to determine the file transfer that will take place. The physical clipboard then executes the logical file transfers as the requests are received. The physical clipboard can then be accessed by any of the cloud-based computing environments to expedite copy-and-paste file transfer.

What the invention would do

For large cloud-based networks, this system demonstrates a method to transfer files quickly and easily within the network. Traditionally, copy-and-paste is a local action done by a user within their own computing environment. This particular patent discloses a third-party processor on the network responsible for the collection and distribution of the requested data. By creating its own unique physical clipboard directly on the network, the method would make it a much easier data source to access, especially when the data needs to be pasted to a large number of users.

why This Patent Application is Interesting

IBM’s patent enables the use of massive file transfers throughout an entire computing network. This could be implemented to automatically configure new computing resources, or enable seamless file transfer amongst users. The capability to copy and paste entire software applications and file data is a definite improvement in the way files are currently shared. This enables a copy-and-paste system with specifically dedicated computing resources enabling the system to be applied on a much larger scale. This patent takes the idea of copy-and-pasting as we know it in a local environment and applies it to a cloud-based network.

Written by John DeStefano, Technical Advisor
March 16, 2021