IBM Corp has decided that rather than try to replicate the software and run into possible patent violations, it will be simpler just to buy a worldwide licence to use Carlsbad, California-based Stac Electronics Inc’s Stacker LZS data compression technology. It has bought rights to use Stacker in all IBM software, including PC-DOS and OS/2, and will initially use it in future versions of PC-DOS. Stacker data compression technology is now in its fourth generation and is claimed to be the first product of its kind to break the 2:1 compression barrier. Terms of the pact, which enhances Stac’s credibility, were not revealed.
