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Canonical, OIN's 1st Associate Member, Commits to Freedom of Action in Open Source

By Pamela Jones et al.

OIN has just announced a new associate membership program, and Canonical is the first associate member:

OIN Associate Members, such as Canonical, demonstrate support and commitment to limiting the effects of patent disputes in Linux. Canonical's activities and those of all companies seeking to adopt and use Linux will be facilitated as OIN works closely with Canonical and other companies that are supporting Linux's growth and expansion. Through the support of its founding members including IBM, NEC, Novell, Philips, Red Hat and Sony, OIN has amassed a broad portfolio of patents, including patents held by nominees on its behalf....

"We view Open Invention Network as one of the key methods through which open source leaders and innovators can deter patent aggression," said Jane Silber, CEO of Canonical. "We are committed to freedom of action in open source, and have noted OIN's efforts to actively defend and enable the Linux ecosystem. By becoming an OIN Associate Member, we are supporting the broad OIN mission and its commitment to enable and protect Linux's advancement."

One thing for sure I know about Mark Shuttleworth. He's brave. Microsoft doesn't cause him to cower in fear. And I'll tell you what I know about OIN. They know how to fight to win.

Full post as published by Groklaw on June 22, 2010 (boomark / email).