Listen to this articleOpen source software continues to expand its reach within the commercial software industry. It spans every major technology sector, including artificial intelligence (AI). In fact, most of the largest AI platforms in use are open source, including BLOOM, DeepSeek, Meta’s LLaMA and Google’s GEMMA, among others. According to research from GitHub and The Linux Foundation 40% of businesses contribute open source code daily and 60% at least weekly. That along with financial contributions means that businesses are investing roughly $7.7 billion in open source annually.
To protect their investments, more than 4,000 businesses have joined the Open Invention Network, the only institution focused on mitigating patent risk in open source software. Recent licensees include Anker, BBC, China Mobile, China Telecom, Electrolux, Foxconn, NatWest, Olympus, RELX Group, Renesas, Schneider Electric, and Wells Fargo, among many others.
There are now more than three million patents and applications globally owned by OIN community members that are cross licensed to each other royalty-free. This demonstrates that patent holders view open source as a critical driver of innovation and appreciate the value of OIN’s cross-license that protects the use and development of core open source software.
“Open collaboration is unmatched in the modern world as a driver for innovation and invention. From artificial intelligence to apps, and everything in between, these advances have been enabled through the open source community’s shared innovation modality, which acts as a force multiplier,” said Keith Bergelt, CEO of Open Invention Network. “Our community’s remarkable growth has been driven by heightened recognition of the importance of open source and a broad-based recognition of a need to mitigate patent risk in core open source technologies.”
Since 2005, OIN has maintained the world’s largest and oldest patent cross-license that safeguards the development and adoption of open source software from patent threats, including from patent assertion entities (PAE). Its patent protection continues to grow through new community members and updates to the open source technologies included in its coverage, called the Linux System. Through the OIN license, community members gain access to patented inventions worth hundreds-of-millions of dollars while promoting a favorable environment for Linux and other core open source software.
As a community, OIN members practice patent non-aggression in core Linux and adjacent open source technologies by cross-licensing Linux System patents to one another. As open source has become pervasive, OIN’s Linux System is now more than 4,500 software packages and components, and has evolved to include Linux and adjacent open source technologies produced by projects focused on automotive, fintech, mobile communications, computing, cloud, IoT, and embedded, among many others.
