ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, has joined the Open Invention Network (OIN), the world’s largest non-aggression consortium that protects Linux and related open-source software and the companies behind them from patent attacks and patent trolls. ZDNet reports: The OIN recently broadened its scope from core Linux programs and adjacent open-source code by expanding its Linux System Definition to other patents such as the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) and the Extended File Allocation Table exFAT file system. By becoming a licensee and community member of OIN, ByteDance will be sharing its other patents to Helo, Resso, and the Chinese specific programs Toutiao, Douyin, and Xigua.
Why is ByteDance doing this? Because, like many other companies, including Microsoft, they consider “Linux and adjacent open source software as key elements for our business,” said Lynn Wu, ByteDance’s Chief IP Counsel. Wu continued, “ByteDance’s participation in the OIN community shows our consistent commitment to shared innovation. We will continue to support it with patent non-aggression in core Linux and other important open-source software technologies.” ByteDance may also have joined because its biggest fellow Chinese rival, Kuaishou, recently joined the OIN. In recent years, many Chinese firms, such as hardware giant Inspur, have joined forces with the OIN.
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