OIN’s primary offering is our FREE Community Membership. OIN also 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.
This move (regarding Huawei’s OIN membership demonstrates that joining OIN has become a no-brainer for any product company. Setting aside the patent trolls, who would never have an incentive to join, no one is asserting patents against Linux anymore. Waging a patent war against a popular open-source project like Linux is bad for business. Of course, the OIN definition of Linux is far broader than the kernel. Even so, the OIN pool protects the basic infrastructure of the web, and no serious pro… Read more
The Electric Vehicle Charging Industry is booming and has benefited greatly from the freedom to use open source software such as Linux in our systems. The Open Charge Alliance stands for open collaboration, open standards and is a strong supporter of OIN. We can’t have patent aggression slowing down innovation and market growth in this exciting new industry.
Foxconn continuously looks for ways to integrate advances into the design and manufacturing of smart consumer electronics, cloud and networking equipment, computing devices and components, among others. We are pleased to join the Open Invention Network and support its role in protecting open source.
For more than 160 years, Heidelberg has been a leading provider of a spectrum of printing technologies used by the most respected print shops in the industry. We recognize the value of open source innovation in our firmware and increasingly sophisticated document management systems. By joining OIN, we are demonstrating our continued commitment to innovation and supporting it with patent non-aggression in Linux and adjacent technologies.
Linux is the largest undertaking of shared innovation in our planet’s history. The OSS community has written and shared billions of lines of code that have transformed the way businesses operate and consumers live. We congratulate OIN for its 15 years, during which it has provided a protective shield against patent aggression. We encourage all open source contributors and users to join OIN and demonstrate their commitment to a safe environment for continued growth in Linux and other OSS proje… Read more
The Mercari Group’s systems are supported by a variety of open source software. As a beneficiary of the enormous contributions made by the open source software community, we believe making a contribution to innovation in the world by publishing technology accumulated through the development and operation of our services, such as Mercari and Merpay, as open source is the right choice. Hence, the Mercari Group endorses the activities of OIN which protects innovations with open source from patent… Read more
At Bareos GmbH & Co. KG, we believe in the power of open source to drive innovation and progress. Joining the Open Invention Network aligns with our commitment to create a collaborative and secure environment for the open-source community. We look forward to contributing to and benefiting from this global network of like-minded organizations.
OIN has created a safe space of innovation in a world which has become increasingly dependent on Linux and open source software technologies. Participation in the OIN community has enabled Microsoft to further enhance our partnerships with developers around the world.
Linux and open source are driving innovation in cloud and mobile computing, and emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things. These are developments that are very close to our hearts at Sage. We applaud the Open Invention Network’s efforts to promote openness and innovation for the benefit of the technical community and our wider society and would encourage our partners to support their work.
The OpenWrt developers believe that openness and collaboration across domains is the groundwork which nurtures Linux development. The new partnership with Open Invention Network will be one of the building blocks pushing OpenWrt forward and advance Linux innovation in general.
Join the OIN Community
Membership is FREE and the 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.