In addition to your Community Membership, OIN offers 4 additional products & services related to Open Source and patent non-aggression.
OIN Patent Non-Aggression Community Membership
There are many benefits for members of our community. You can find a summary of the key benefits here.
Sharing Prior Art
OIN leverages our network of relationships in the greater Open Source community to collect and share prior art in order to permit OIN licensees at risk, or in litigation, to better defend against Linux-centric patent aggression.
OIN Patent Acquisitions & Threat Clearing
In certain circumstances, OIN may acquire patents from patent antagonists asserting patents in situations where the acquisition provides a broad-based clearing of patent threats to OIN community members.
OIN Reduces Patent Application Claim Scope
OIN routinely utilizes the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA) (defined below) pre-issuance submission program to submit prior art to limit the claim scope — or secure outright rejection — of overly broad patent claims in patent applications that are focused on key technology areas relevant to Linux and adjacent Open Source technologies.
The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA) is a U.S. federal statute passed by Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama on September 16, 2011. The law represents the most significant legislative change to the U.S. patent system since the Patent Act of 1952 and closely resembles previously proposed legislation in the Senate with the Patent Reform Act of 2009.
Named for its lead sponsors, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), the Act switches the U.S. patent system from a “first to invent” to a “first inventor to file” system, eliminates interference proceedings and develops post-grant opposition. Its central provisions went into effect on September 16, 2012 and on March 16, 2013.
As a leader in the development of intelligent automobiles, Daimler is committed to offering the highest-quality products across our portfolio. By joining the Open Invention Network, we are demonstrating our continued commitment to innovation, and supporting it with patent non-aggression in Linux.
We strive to be the top short video social platform and community for all users to record and share their lives. Linux and open source are critical elements in technologies we develop and integrate into our platform. By joining the Open Invention Network, we are demonstrating our continued commitment to innovation, and supporting it with patent non-aggression in core Linux and adjacent open source software.
UnionPay focuses on Fintech innovation and is committed to building an open platform that provides integrated payment services with global influence. Under the frame of legal and regulatory compliance, we are pleased to provide service and conduct active cooperation. We look forward to working with OIN and community members to protect our global business and the open source projects that encourage innovation.
OIN protects the open-source community through a patent cross-license for Linux and related open-source technologies. The license is free and available to companies, organizations, and individual developers if they agree not to assert their own patents against Linux.
Over its 21 years existence, OVHcloud has developed a strong vision on how innovation is critical to empower cloud users with a relentless effort on open source and open standards. Joining OIN is a strong asset to keep on developing our open innovation roadmap and taking it to the community.
For some time, Groupe Renault has invested in developing the innovations and technologies that will enable sustainable transportation that excels in urban and rural environments and brings connected services in the vehicle. With our rapid pace of development coupled with our passion for precision, quality and interoperability, we see leveraging open source software as an important part of our strategy.
Philips is proud to be a founder of the Open Invention Network. Over the years, OSS has been an important building block for many of our businesses and is increasingly important for the medical and health tech industries. OSS enables faster development of monitoring, imaging, diagnostic, and informatic platforms, while driving down costs. With more than 4,000 community members, OIN is ensuring that OSS innovation continues its rapid pace, in a safe environment enabled by licensing.
Through our information platforms, people can be more creative and enrich their lives through deeper communications with their friends and family. We view Linux and adjacent open source software as key elements for our business. ByteDance’s participation in the OIN community shows our consistent commitment to shared innovation. We will continue to support it with patent non-aggression in core Linux and other important OSS technologies.
We recognize the value in shared innovation, a fundamental characteristic of open source communities. In addition to joining OIN, Square is one of the founders of the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), a collaborative consortium in which members pledge not to use their crypto technology patents, except for defensive purposes. Our participation in the OIN community demonstrates our commitment to support collaborative technology development.
Protecting open source is critical to us, our users and to the ongoing health of the Internet. We’re proud of our new role within OIN. We’re very happy with the direction OIN has been going.
Join the OIN Community
The membership process is simple. We welcome all individuals & companies who advocate for Open Source and are focused on reducing risk from the threats of patent aggressors.