IBM's plan to open up its software patents has engendered debate among those who favor patent pools, including IBM, and those that prefer indemnification plans, prior-art repositories, or legislation. No route has been yet found ideal. A spokesman for the Public Patent Foundation urges the industry to compete by spending money on research and development (R&D), rather than on patent attorneys and law suits. The dream of creation of an intellectual commons remains elusive to many, however, including Phil Albert, of Townsend & Townsend & Crew. He says it can be done with copyrighted material if the material is put in a pool so that anyone can take it out and use it because the creator has the grant to grant such use. However, that does not work with patents. Rather, says Albert, a patent can be violated inadvertently when an entity independently arrives at the same result claimed by the patent holder. IBMs tactic has arrived at a period in time when open source developers and users are on the edge of their seats, says a consultant on patent issues. However, the interest of the industry has moved over the past year from SCO to Microsoft, says an attorney, since Microsoft sells a version of Linux used in consumer electronics devices such as Motorola cellphones. Five separate SCO lawsuits related to Linux are increasingly seen as copyright and contract disputes, not directly tied to open-source patents.