Home - Open Invention Network

Recently Joined the OIN Community

About OIN

OIN is a defensive patent pool and community of patent non-aggression which enables freedom of action in Linux. Learn about OIN’s mission, team, supporters, and more.

OIN Community

Over 2,000 organizations have joined OIN. In support of patent non-aggression. For free access to OIN’s patents. And to gain royalty free access to Linux System patents of other OIN participants.

Our License Agreement

Available to all parties, a completed OIN license agreement provides entry to the OIN community and its benefits. Review the agreement, learn more, and sign up online.

OIN Linux System

The Linux System is the set of technologies in which OIN participants agree to cross-license patents to another. A shared zone of patent non-aggression to promote collaboration.

Press Room

OIN enables freedom of action in open source and Linux, which have been great sources of innovation. Find press releases, coverage, FAQs, resources and more here.

Community Initiatives

OIN supports complementary community initiatives that are good for our community and open source software.

Press Mentions

January 03, 2019
The top 5 Linux and open-source stories of 2018

December 13, 2018
Alibaba and Ant Financial join Open Invention Network

Read More >>

What people are saying…

Flex is proud to join OIN and help further the goals of the open source community. In our position spanning many industries, we are sensitive to the negative impact that the aggressive assertion of patents can have on innovation, and how excessive lawsuits can significantly dampen opportunities for collaboration, especially within the open source community. We are pleased to be an active participant in the effort to protect Linux and related open source technologies from the risk of patent litig…

John RitsickVP of Legal and Chief Intellectual Property Officer, Flex

Linux and open source are critical building blocks in today’s consumer electronics. By joining the Open Invention Network, we are helping ensure the ongoing development of open solutions that directly lead to major innovations in consumer electronics products. We are pleased to be part of the Open Invention Network community.

Stephen Evans, Wolfson Microelectronics

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.

Chris DiBonaGoogle

Linux plays an important role at TomTom as the core of all our Portable Navigation Devices. We believe that by becoming an Open Invention Network licensee, we encourage Linux development and foster innovation in a technical community that benefits everyone.

Peter Spours, TomTom

OIN is an organization which helps protect the Linux ecosystem by building a variety of defenses against patent attacks…By joining, Mozilla receives cross-licenses from other OIN licensees, but more importantly, for the long term, it affords us a chance to work with OIN in reducing IP threats to open source development and innovation.

Harvey Anderson, Mozilla Project

We look forward to participating in the Open Invention Network. Many of the services and apps that our customers depend on every day have been developed using open source software and we look forward to helping safeguard its future.

Luke IbbetsonVodaphone

Linux and open source are critical elements in today’s mobile, cloud and enterprise computing environments. By joining the Open Invention Network, we are helping ensure the ongoing development of open solutions that promote market growth in key lines of business.

Guru PaiVerizon

For more than 160 years, Heidelberg has been a leading provider of a spectrum of printing technologies used by the most respected print shops in the industry. We recognize the value of open source innovation in our firmware and increasingly sophisticated document management systems. By joining OIN, we are demonstrating our continued commitment to innovation and supporting it with patent non-aggression in Linux and adjacent technologies

Christof Haust, Heidelberger Drucksmachinen, AG

Linux is an integral part of the advanced system-on-chip (SoC) development process and is used as the development platform as well as a target operating system for many systems that our customers design. Preserving the openness of Linux is critical to the continued advancement of next-generation SoCs in both embedded applications and consumer devices.

Jim Ready, Cadence

Open source technology, especially Linux, drives innovation in areas that are critical to the customers that we serve, including technologies such as servers, storage, cloud, converged applications, big data and IoT. By joining Open Invention Network, we are demonstrating our continued commitment to open source technology, and supporting it with patent non-aggression in Linux.

Norihiro SuzukiVice President and Executive Officer, CTO

Recently Joined the OIN Community

About OIN

OIN Community

Our License Agreement

OIN Linux System

Press Room

Community Initiatives

Press Mentions

What people are saying…