Patents for the Penguin

IBM, Novell, Philips, Red Hat and Sony have got together to form the Open Invention Network (OIN) which will acquire patents so as to offer them on a royalty-free basis to promote Linux.

The network will have patents which will be openly shared in a collaborative environment. These will be used to facilitate the advancement of applications for, and the components of, the Linux operating system.

“Open collaboration is critical for driving innovation, which fuels global economic growth. Impediments to collaboration on the Linux operating system seriously jeopardise innovation. A new model of intellectual property management for Linux must be established to maintain advances in software innovation regardless of the size or type of business or organisation,” said Jerry Rosenthal, Chief Executive Officer, OIN.

Patents owned by OIN will be available on a royalty-free basis to any company, institution or individual that agrees not to assert its patents against the Linux operating system or certain Linux-related applications. Among OIN’s initial patent holdings is a set of business-to-business electronic commerce patents purchased from Commerce One by JGR, a subsidiary of Novell.