Rakuten Joins the Open Invention Network Community

Durham, N.C., March 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Open Invention Network (OIN), the largest patent non-aggression community in history, announced today that Rakuten, Inc. has joined as a community member.  Rakuten is a global leader in internet services, offering over 70 services in e-commerce, fintech, digital content and communications.  In addition, Rakuten is pursuing an ambitious new network build out to become the world’s first end-to-end fully virtualized, cloud-native mobile network, using open source mobile carrier architecture to drive its $600 billion investment.  By joining OIN, Rakuten is demonstrating its commitment to open source software (OSS) as a foundation for its platforms.

“The online commerce, mobile communications, and fintech services industries are experiencing rapid growth. Global leaders that recognize these market opportunities, and the benefits of shared innovation inherent in open source, are building robust, feature-rich services that help make them more desirable to consumers,” said Keith Bergelt, CEO of Open Invention Network. “We are pleased that Rakuten has joined our community and committed to patent non-aggression in Linux and adjacent open source technologies.” 

“At Rakuten, our businesses continue to evolve as we address new market opportunities. Because of this, we are a user and strong advocate of open source software,” said Tareq Amin, CAO, Group Executive Vice President, Rakuten, Inc. “We are building the first 100% fully virtualized mobile network, enabling us to scale rapidly and offer the best quality-of-service (QoS) available.  By joining Open Invention Network, we are demonstrating our commitment to open source software, and supporting it with a pledge of patent non-aggression.”

OIN’s community practices patent non-aggression in core Linux and adjacent open source technologies by cross-licensing Linux System patents to one another on a royalty-free basis. Patents owned by Open Invention Network are similarly licensed royalty-free to any organization that agrees not to assert its patents against the Linux System.  The OIN license can be signed online at http://www.j-oin.net/.

About Rakuten
Rakuten, Inc. (TSE: 4755) is a global leader in Internet services that empower individuals, communities, businesses and society. Founded in Tokyo in 1997 as an online marketplace, Rakuten has expanded to offer services in e-commerce, fintech, digital content and communications to about 1.4 billion members around the world. The Rakuten Group has over 20,000 employees, and operations in 30 countries and regions. For more information visit https://global.rakuten.com/corp/.

About Open Invention Network
Open Invention Network (OIN) is the largest patent non-aggression community in history and supports freedom of action in Linux as a key element of open source software (OSS). Patent non-aggression in core technologies is a cultural norm within OSS, so that the litmus test for authentic behavior in the OSS community includes OIN membership. Funded by Google, IBM, NEC, Philips, Sony, SUSE and Toyota, OIN has more than 3,200 community members and owns more than 1,300 global patents and applications. The OIN patent license and member cross-licenses are available royalty-free to any party that joins the OIN community.

For more information, visit http://www.openinventionnetwork.com.

Media-Only Contact:
Ed Schauweker
AVID Public Relations for Open Invention Network
[email protected] 
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