OIN’s primary offering is our FREE Community Membership. OIN also offers 4 additional products & services related to Open Source and patent non-aggression.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
KDDI is committed to offering high-quality telecommunication service and a variety of IoT service, including vehicle telematics, smart meters and others. Linux and open source are critical elements in technologies which we are developing aimed at such services. By joining the Open Invention Network, we are demonstrating our continued commitment to innovation, and supporting it with patent non-aggression in Linux.
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
RBC recognizes open source as a significant enabler of innovation and it was important for us to join the Open Invention Network and support its role in protecting Linux system open source software from patent litigation risk.
With the Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT) reshaping what is possible in industrial settings — improving productivity, enhancing operational efficiency and increasing customer choice — we view Linux and other open source projects as key enablers in the IIOT. The success of the IIOT is predicated on the ability to connect and manage widely distributed sensors and devices across numerous vertical industries and compute the data effectively on an industrial scale.
At Shopify, we’ve built our platform on Ruby on Rails. We view open source software as a key foundation for our business. By joining the Open Invention Network, we have committed to patent non-aggression in core Linux and adjacent open source software. We believe that this commitment will promote innovation and help enable entrepreneurs and developers to build on open source foundations without focusing on the threat of litigation. We strongly encourage all forward-looking ecommerce platforms,… Read more
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
Open source technology, especially Linux, drives innovation in areas that are critical to the customers that we serve, including technologies such as servers, storage, cloud, converged applications, big data and IoT. By joining Open Invention Network, we are demonstrating our continued commitment to open source technology, and supporting it with patent non-aggression in Linux.
Since WSO2 was founded, we have been committed to delivering a completely open source platform that takes advantage of the Linux ecosystem. As an OIN member, we look forward not only to taking advantage of the cross-licensing opportunities, but also working with OIN to expand the scope of technologies in the patent pool.
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.
As a licensee, we’ll have access to OIN resources in case we’re threatened by operating entities with patents.
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.