Goetz, Martin A., 1930-,

Martin A. Goetz, (1930 - ), software industry pioneer. In 1959, Goetz joined six other former UNIVAC I programmers to found Applied Data Research (ADR). Goetz was senior programmer and project manager at ADR from 1959-1965 and senior vice president and director of the Software Products Division from 1965-1984. He became president of the company in 1984.

Goetz was awarded the first U.S. patent for a software computer program for his Sorting System in 1968. He received a second patent in 1970, for his "Automatic System for Constructing and Recording Display Charts," the computer program behind the ADR product AUTOFLOW. Goetz testified in the late 1970's as an expert witness for the Justice Department in the United States v. International Business Machines (IBM) anti-trust case.

Martin A. Goetz, a software industry pioneer, received his BBA in 1953 and his MBA in 1961 from the City College of New York. He began his computing career in 1954 as a program analyst for Sperry Rand and worked as a systems programmer for IBM in 1958-1959.

In 1959, Goetz joined Sherman Blumenthal, Ellwood Kauffman, Dave McFadden, Bernard Riskin, Robert Wickenden, and Stephen Wright, all former UNIVAC I programmers, to found Applied Data Research (ADR). Goetz was senior programmer and project manager at ADR from 1959-1965 and senior vice president and director of the Software Products Division from 1965-1984. He became president of the company in 1984. After stepping down as president in 1986, Goetz remained with ADR as senior vice president and chief technology officer. Goetz left the company in 1988 to become chief operating officer at Syllogy Corporation. In August 1989 he founded Goetz Associates, a private consulting firm.

Goetz was awarded the first U.S. patent for a software computer program for his Sorting System in 1968. He received a second patent in 1970, for his Automatic System for Constructing and Recording Display Charts, the computer program behind the ADR product AUTOFLOW. He served as ADR's representative to the Association of Independent Software Companies (AISC) starting in 1970. He became involved in the Association of DAta Processing Service Organizations (ADAPSO), later called the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA), when AISC merged with ADAPSO's Software Products and Services Section to form the ADAPSO/AISC section in the spring of 1972. Goetz served as a member of the ADAPSO/AISC section board of directors from 1972-1994 and president of the section in 1973. From 1972 to 1980 he served as chair of ADAPSO's Software Protection Committee.

Goetz testified in the late 1970s as an expert witness for the Justice Department in the United States v. International Business Machines (IBM) anti-trust case. He wrote and spoke widely about topics including computer programming, proprietary software and separate pricing, software patenting and copyright protections, software/hardware unbundling, IBM and software anti-trust litigation, and trends in the software products industry.