Open Invention Network safeguards Open Source Software from patent risk.
Open Invention Network is the largest Patent Non-aggression community. Nearly 4,000 OIN community members collectively own 3 million patents & applications. They pledge not to assert their patents in core Open Source Software through OIN’s cross-license, preserving freedom to innovate in covered technologies.
Open Invention Network safeguards Open Source Software from patent risk.
Open Invention Network is the largest Patent Non-aggression community. Nearly 4,000 OIN community members collectively own 3 million patents & applications. They pledge not to assert their patents in core Open Source Software through OIN’s cross-license, preserving freedom to innovate in covered technologies.
Join our Community of Global Leaders
OIN is the largest patent non-aggression community in history. Together, we support freedom of action in Linux as a key element of Open Source & help members reduce patent risks.
OIN believes greater diversity of thought, perspective and talent drives higher levels of innovation. We promote the idea that Open Source technologies provide a new business model which distills collective and global intelligence.
3800+
Community Members
150+
Countries
Join our Community of Global Leaders
OIN is the largest patent non-aggression community in history. Together, we support freedom of action in Linux as a key element of Open Source & help members reduce patent risks.
OIN believes greater diversity of thought, perspective and talent drives higher levels of innovation. We promote the idea that Open Source technologies provide a new business model which distills collective and global intelligence.
3800+
Community Members
150+
Countries
“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.”
Keith Bergelt
CEO | Open Invention Network
“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.”
Latest News & Events
➜ Industry News
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In 1978, Bernard Marcus & Arthur Blank didn’t have any idea how revolutionary their new hardware store would be for the home improvement & the retail industry with its warehouse concept. Marcus served the company as its 1st CEO & 1st Chairman until retiring in …
➜ OIN In The News
OIN, Microsoft & The Linux Foundation Mark 5 Years of Successfully Challenging Patent Assertion Entities
April 11, 2024 — Five years ago, OIN, Microsoft & The Linux Foundation created the Open Source Zone with Unified Patents to leverage prior art & challenge patents owned by Patent Assertion Entities (PAEs) that negatively impact the Open Source community. Since the initial founding of the OS Zone, …
➜ Press Releases
Founding Open Source Zone Members: OIN, The Linux Foundation, and Microsoft Mark Five Years of Successes in Protecting Open Source Software from Patent Assertion Entities
Durham, NC (April 10, 2024) - Open Invention Network (OIN), the largest patent non-aggression community in history, announced today that it will continue, with support from Microsoft and The Linux Foundation, funding Unified Patents’ Open Source Zone (OS Zone) for a fifth year in …