exFAT, Hyperledger, Hadoop, Android AOSP 10 and Robot OS are among the new software packages now included under the protective umbrella of the Linux System Definition.

Durham, NC (October 13, 2020) – Open Invention Network (OIN), the largest patent non-aggression community in history, announced today that it has further reduced patent risk associated with core Linux and adjacent open source code through the measured expansion of the scope of its Linux System Definition. To keep pace with innovation and safeguard broad-based adoption of open source code, Open Invention Network periodically revises its Linux System coverage to include core code drawn from the growing number of important open source projects.

In the current Linux System definition update, OIN’s ever expanding licensee community will benefit from patent risk mitigation associated with the use of core software packages drawn from Hyperledger, Apache Avro, Kafka, Spark, Hadoop, Automotive Grade Linux (AGL), Robot Operating System (ROS), KDE Frameworks, Android AOSP 10, Eclipse Paho and Mosquito, among others. Of particular note, OIN is incorporating the Linux implementations of exFAT into the scope of patent non-aggression by virtue of this update.  In total, the expansion includes 520 new software components, bringing the total number of Linux System-protected packages to 3,393.

“Linux and open source software proliferation accelerates the pace of innovation across industries as software becomes an increasingly important source of differentiation,” said Keith Bergelt, CEO of Open Invention Network. “This Linux System expansion enables OIN to keep pace with open source innovation, promoting patent non-aggression in the core. As open source grows, we will continue the measured expansion of the Linux System and, at the same time, recruit more companies into the OIN community to further mitigate patent risk associated with the use of core open source code.”

This, the eighth such update in OIN’s history, continues OIN’s well-established policy of applying a conservative, consensus-driven and community-informed approach to the addition of core open source functionality to the Linux System definition.

Open to all, 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 http://www.j-oin.net/.

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 (OSS). Patent non-aggression in core technologies is a cultural norm within OSS, so that the litmus test for authentic behavior in the OSS community includes OIN membership. Funded by Google, IBM, NEC, Philips, Sony, SUSE, and Toyota, OIN has more than 3,300 community members and owns more than 1,300 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.

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Media-Only Contact:

Ed Schauweker
AVID Public Relations for Open Invention Network
ed@avidpr.com

+1 (703) 963-5238