Durham, NC (February 21, 2019) – Open Invention Network (OIN), the largest patent non-aggression community in history with more than 2,800 members, announced today that UnionPay has joined its community. As a leading multinational financial services corporation that provides card, mobile, and online payment technologies to merchants and consumers, UnionPay agrees with the concept of open innovation and patent non-aggression in Linux and open source.

“The online, mobile, and card-based financial services industries are experiencing significant growth, driven by global leaders that recognize the benefits of shared innovation, which enables them to build robust, feature-rich products and services for their customers,” said Keith Bergelt, CEO of OIN. “We are pleased that UnionPay has joined our community and committed to patent non-aggression in Linux and adjacent open source technologies.”

“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,” said the IP manager at UnionPay. “We look forward to working with OIN and community members to protect our global business and the open source projects that encourage innovation.”

OIN’s community practices patent non-aggression in core open source technologies by cross-licensing Linux System patents to one another on a royalty-free basis. Patents owned by OIN 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/.

So far, UnionPay’s acceptance footprint has expanded to 174 countries and regions, covering more than 52 million merchants and over 2.6 million ATMs. More than 7 billion UnionPay cards have been issued accumulatively in 51 countries and regions. In many countries and regions, UnionPay card has become the major payment method for consumers’ daily consumption and cross-border travels.

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, Red Hat, Sony, SUSE and Toyota, OIN has more than 2,800 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.