Oral history interview with Martin Goetz

Abstract

Martin A. Goetz, a software industry pioneer, was a founder and past president of Applied Data Research (ADR). He was awarded the first software patent in 1968 for his sorting system program and was a longtime spokesperson for protecting software as intellectual property. In this interview Goetz discusses aspects of his early career as a programmer at Remington Rand, his founding of ADR, his management of ADR’s Software Division, ADR’s competition and litigation against IBM, IBM’s unbundling, his work with ADAPSO, and his leadership on the issue of the intellectual protection of software. He concludes with some remarks on the relationship between anti-trust issues with IBM in 1960s and 1970s, and the Justice Department’s case against Microsoft this past decade. This oral history was co-sponsored by CBI, through a National Science Foundation grant project, "Building a Future for Software History," and the Software History Center in conjunction with the Center's ADAPSO reunion (3 May 2002).