Today, open-source software powers the world. It didn’t have to be that way. The Open Invention Network’s (OIN) origins are rooted in a turbulent era for open source. In the mid-2000s, Linux faced existential threats from copyright and patent litigation. Besides, the infamous SCO lawsuit and Microsoft’s claims that Linux infringed on hundreds of its patents cast a shadow over the ecosystem.
Business leaders became worried. While SCO’s attacks petered out, patent trolls — formally known as Patent Assertion Entities (PAEs) — were increasing their attacks. So, free-source friendly industry l no prescription with fast delivery drugstore
At the heart of OIN’s legal s trategy is a royalty-free cross-license agreement. Members agree not to assert their patents against the Linux System, creating a powerful network effect that shields free-source projects from litigation. As OIN CEO Keith Bergelt explained, this model enables “broad-based participation by ensuring patent risk mitigation in key open-source technologies, thereby facilitating open-source adoption.”
This approach worked then, and it continues to work today.
As more companies realized the value of open source, they joined in increasing numbers. Indeed, in 2018, Microsoft not only joined the OIN, but the company also shocked the world by offering its entire 60,000 patent portfolio to all of the open-source patent consortium’s members.
Why? Because it made good business sense. As Microsoft VP and Deputy General Counsel Burton Davis explained in 2022: “Microsoft is committed to open source, and continues to invest and collaborate across the broad open-source landscape. As a beneficiary and active participant in the free-source ecosystem, Microsoft is committed to doing its part, together with the broader open-source community, to protect this valuable resource from patent risk and other challenges.”
Over the years, OIN’s mission has expanded beyond Linux to cover a range of open technologies. Its Linux System Definition, which determines the scope of patent cross-licensing, has grown from a few core packages to over 4,500 software components and platforms, including Android, Apache, Kubernetes, and ChromeOS. This expansion has been critical, as open source has become foundational across industries such as finance, automotive, telecommunications, and artificial intelligence.
OIN’s defensive activities go beyond licensing. The organization actively neutralizes patent threats through third-party preissuance submissions, pr ior-art collection, invalidity analysis, and ex parte reexaminations. For example, OIN played a pivotal role in he -online/ no prescription with fast delivery drugstore
