Google Joins the Open Invention Network To Ease the Burden of Intellectual Property Issues
The Open Invention Network, an organization created to help take the pressure of patent litigation off Linux developers, has added Google to the ranks of its contributors.
The move is a major progression for the OIN: Google is not only one of the world’s biggest users of open-source software, but it is also the group’s first end-user member. The network’s other members, including IBM and Red Hat, are all vendors selling products based on open-source software.
In announcing the move, Google noted that the company relies heavily on open source and, particularly, on Linux. “Check a Google engineer’s workstation, and you’ll probably find it’s running Linux. Do a search on Google.com, and a Linux server will return your results,” Google open-source programs manager Chris DiBona said in a Monday entry on the official Google blog. Google prizes Linux for its power and flexibility, DiBona said.
“For us, today’s announcement marks the latest development in a long, fruitful relationship with the open-source community.”—Chris DiBona, open-source programs manager, Google
Google’s membership of the group means that it will, like other OIN members, agree to cross-license open source-related patents to other OIN members free of charge. The idea is that member companies can then freely collaborate on open-source projects with less of a burden, in terms of dealing with intellectual-property issues.
