Microsoft has just come up with an interesting announcement. The Redmond giant is now a part of the Open Invention Network(OIN), a community that acts as a protector of the open source programs and Linux from patent infringement. As Microsoft joins the OIN, it becomes one of the members besides technology giants like Google, IBM, and many other companies.
“Open source development continues to expand into new products and markets to create unrivaled levels of innovation. Through its participation in OIN, Microsoft is explicitly acknowledging the importance of open source software to its future growth,” said Keith Bergelt, CEO of Open Invention Network. “Microsoft’s participation in OIN adds to our strong community, which through its breadth and depth has reduced patent risk in core technologies, and unequivocally signals for all companies who are using OSS but have yet to join OIN that the litmus test for authentic behavior in the OSS community includes OIN participation.”
“Microsoft sees open source as a key innovation engine, and for the past several years we have increased our involvement in, and contributions to, the open source community,” said Erich Andersen, Corporate Vice President and Chief IP Counsel, Microsoft. “We believe the protection OIN offers the open source community helps increase global contributions to and adoption of open source technologies. We are honored to stand with OIN as an active participant in its program to protect against patent aggression in core Linux and other important OSS technologies.”
This should not be surprising as the company is now all in on Linux. The company recently open-sourced some of its important tool like .NET core, PowerShell, TypeScript, VS Code. Microsoft even has Azure Sphere and it was built using Linux as its foundation, not Windows.
