August 21, 2026 —TIER IV joins OIN as part of its strategy for balancing Open Source adoption & Intellectual Property (IP)  protection. As autonomous driving technologies rely more on software and collaboration to innovate, reducing patent risk is a critical enabler of broader participation and commercialization. The move to join OIN reinforces the growing importance of patent protection in the autonomous vehicle industry. A growing number of automakers, suppliers & semiconductor companies depend on Open Source such as TIER IV’s Autoware, which is built on the Robot Operating System (ROS) and has been covered by OIN’s Linux System definition since Table 10. By joining OIN 2.0, TIER IV gains access to a unique defensive patent cross license in which over 4,100 worldwide members collectively hold over 3 million patents & applications & access to OIN’s exclusive Linux System definition which currently covers over 5,100 Open Source technologies. Automotive World covers the announcement.

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