Open Invention Network (OIN), the largest patent non-aggression community in history, is marking its 10 year anniversary this fall. Since its founding in 2005, Open Invention Network has grown its community to over 1,700 participants – from sizable multinational companies to key open source projects to emerging businesses. OIN has expanded its strategic patent portfolio to more than 1,000 worldwide patents and applications. In parallel, the zone of patent non-aggression that is defined by OIN’s Linux System definition has evolved to include more than 2,300 software packages, which ensures freedom of action in core functionality for global open source projects and technology platforms such as Linux, Red Hat, SUSE, Android, Open Stack and Apache.
“Over the past ten years, we have seen explosive growth in open source software, from the enterprise to mobile to the internet of things. The type of collaborative invention that open source drives is yielding higher levels of innovation than ever before, and has demonstrated the power of co-opetition – a balancing of cooperation and competition,” said Keith Bergelt, CEO at Open Invention Network. “OIN’s approach to patent non-aggression has embraced the notion of co-opetition and ushered in an emerging cultural norm which enables broad based participation in collaborative projects regardless of an organization’s perspective on patents while ensuring freedom of action in key Linux and open source technologies.”
OIN’s community practices patent non-aggression in core Linux and adjacent open source technologies by cross-licensing Linux System patents to one another on a royalty-free basis. Patents owned by Open Invention Network are similarly licensed royalty-free to any organization that agrees not to assert its patents against the Linux System. The OIN license can be signed online at www.j-oin.com.
About Open Invention Network
Open Invention Network (OIN) is the largest patent non-aggression community in history and supports freedom of action in Linux as a key element of open source software. Funded by Google, IBM, NEC, Philips, Red Hat, Sony and SUSE, OIN has more than 1,700 OIN community members and owns more than 1,000 global patents and applications. The OIN patent license and member cross-licenses are available royalty free to any party that joins the OIN community.
For more information, visit http://www.openinventionnetwork.com.