Kunle Olukotun, a professor at Stanford in the electrical engineering and computer science departments, explains why an open source approach to research benefits both corporate backers and the academic teams doing the work. Rather than locking down the resulting intellectual property, Stanford and Olukotun have taken the tack to make it widely available. This “IP in the Open” approach Olukotun argues, results in better solutions for industry and a faster uptake for new technologies and novel approaches.