Alibaba and Ant Financial Join the Open Invention Network Community

Alibaba and Ant Financial are demonstrating their commitment to open innovation and a commitment to patent non-aggression in Linux and open source

Durham, N.C., Dec. 13, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Open Invention Network (OIN), the largest patent non-aggression community in history with more than 2,800 members, announced today that Alibaba and Ant Financial Services Group (“Ant Financial”) have joined its community. As a global leader in e-commerce & cloud computing and a global leader in financial technology (FinTech), respectively, Alibaba and Ant Financial are demonstrating their commitment to open source software as an enabler of their platforms and systems.

“The e-commerce, computing and financial services industries are experiencing significant disruption, driven by global leaders that recognize the benefits of shared innovation which enables them to effectively differentiate their services higher in the technology stack,” said Keith Bergelt, CEO of Open Invention Network. “We are pleased that Alibaba and Ant Financial have joined our community and committed to patent non-aggression in the core.” 

“Openness and sharing are the sources of innovation. Alibaba is excited to join Open Invention Network and share our cutting edge innovations with industry leaders," said Jiangwei Jiang, GM of Technology R&D, at Alibaba Cloud Computing.

“We are excited to join OIN,” said Benjamin Bai, Vice President and Chief IP Counsel of Ant Financial. “Since its inception in 2005, OIN has been at the forefront of helping companies reduce patent infringement risks relating to Linux. It does so by creating a voluntary system of patent cross-licenses between member companies covering Linux System technologies.  We look forward to working with OIN and its members to protect the Linux ecosystem and also encourage innovation in the open source software community.”

OIN’s community practices patent non-aggression in core 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 Alibaba
Alibaba Group provides the technology infrastructure and marketing reach to help merchants, brands and other businesses to leverage the power of new technology to engage with their users and customers and operate in a more efficient way.  Its businesses are comprised of core commerce, cloud computing, digital media and entertainment, and innovation initiatives.

Established in 2009, Alibaba Cloud (www.alibabacloud.com), the cloud computing arm of Alibaba Group, is among the world's top three IaaS providers according to Gartner, and the largest provider of public cloud services in China, according to IDC. Alibaba Cloud provides a comprehensive suite of cloud computing services to businesses worldwide, including merchants doing business on Alibaba Group marketplaces, start-ups, corporations and government organizations. Alibaba Cloud is the official Cloud Services Partner of the International Olympic Committee.

About Ant Financial
Ant Financial Services Group is dedicated to using technology to bring the world equal opportunities. Our technologies, including blockchain, artificial intelligence, security, Internet of Things and computing, empower us and our ecosystem partners to serve the unbanked and underbanked, bringing more secure, transparent, cost-effective and inclusive financial services to individuals and SMEs worldwide. 

Ant Financial has formed international partnerships with global strategic partners to serve local users in those markets, and we serve Chinese travelers overseas by connecting Alipay with online and offline merchants in popular destinations. By the end of March 2018, together with its global JV partners, Ant Financial served 870 million users worldwide. Brands under Ant Financial Services Group include Alipay, Ant Fortune, Zhima Credit, MYbank and Ant Financial Cloud. 

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

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, Red Hat, Sony, SUSE and Toyota, OIN has more than 2,800 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
ed@avidpr.com
+1 (703) 963-5238