Meet Open Invention Network Watch the video “Open Invention Network – Where Open Source Advocates Unite”

Open Invention Network is a unique organization. For 15 years, it has protected the Linux and open source community from patent aggression, while fostering a community that understands that value of shared technological development. It has been an honor to have worked with the OIN team, and fellow OIN Board members, to plan and implement the strategic initiatives that have provided protection for open source.  

OIN protects the open-source community through a patent cross-license for Linux and related open-source technologies. The license is free and available to companies, organizations, and individual developers if they agree not to assert their own patents against Linux.  

Freedom to participate in open source projects and adopt Linux and other open source code has been enabled through broad based participation in the OIN cross-license, which has become a litmus test for authenticity in the open source community. Joining the OIN community demonstrates an explicit recognition among signatories of a commitment to open source technologies and the set of norms required around the appropriate use of patents in an increasingly open source-centric world. Companies that do not sign the OIN license and refuse to participate in this rapidly growing community are explicitly or implicitly reserving the right to use their patents to litigate on core Linux and OSS functionality.  

Google has been a proud member of OIN since joining the community in 2007. Linux and adjacent open source software power the cloud-based services of today and tomorrow. Throughout, OIN has been there to ensure that open source remains safe for users, consumers, and developers alike to consume and upon which to build.