this is just one of about 100,000 patents that fujitsu owns. many companies develop products that are never put on sale as they are thought to be unprofitable. patents on technologies like these are known as sleeping patents. allowing smaller companies to use those sleeping patents can open the way for the products to be made and marketed. a percentage of the profits are given back to the company that owns the patent. >> translator: i think technology is only meaningful when it's put to use. instead of hoarding these patents it's important for companies to share them with the community and make good use of them. >> reporter: it's the perfect subject for college students with imagination. in may last year, saitoma's economics department set up a new course in which teams of students develop new products using sleeping patents. this group chose an anti-theft technolo technology. the patent is for a system that sets off an alarm when vibrations of a certain frequency are detected. it responds to vibrations, such as people's footsteps. [ alarm soun

ibm has approached several companies, including dell, hp, fujitsu to gauge their interests. nbc universal has a content partnership. ibm stock in frankfurt flat. if you've got any thoughts or comments about anything we're talking about today, please send them in the address as always on the screen right there, worldwide@cnbc.com. >>> still to come, are western multi nationals losing the battle for business in africa? we'll hear what companies need to do if they can hope to try and succeed on that confidence. >>> president obama is vowing to work around congress. he's challenging lawmakers to work together on big scale initiatives such as addressing income inequality by boosting minimum wage and creating a new retirement savings program which is called myra. the president outlined several ways in which he intends to use executive power toes bypass congress altogether. the fact of the matter is, even in recovery, too many americans are working to get ahead. what i offer is a set of concrete practical proposals to speed up growth, strengthen the middle class or build new ladder