DURHAM, N.C. -

TD Bank Group (TD) recently made a significant commitment to safeguarding open-source software (OSS).

According to a news release, TD became one of the first major banks to join Open Invention Network (OIN), collaborating with more than 3,300 other members in the non-aggression community funded by Google, IBM, NEC, Philips, Sony, SUSE and Toyota.

OIN’s community practices patent non-aggression in core Linux and adjacent OSS technologies by cross-licensing Linux System patents to one another on a royalty-free basis. Patents owned by OIN are similarly licensed royalty-free to any organization that agrees not to assert its patents against the Linux System.

“We remain focused on leveraging the best technologies for our platforms and are excited to join the Open Invention Network (OIN), that supports protection from patent infringement claims for the greater good of the wider innovation community,” said Josh Death, intellectual property and patentable innovations lead at TD.

The OIN patent license and member cross-licenses are available royalty-free to any party that joins the OIN community.

“The financial services and fintech industries are increasingly relying on open-source technologies for building and integrating feature-rich platforms,” Open Invention Network chief executive officer Keith Bergelt said

“As the first major North American bank to join our community, we are pleased that an established leader like TD is committed to patent non-aggression in core Linux and adjacent open-source technologies,” Bergelt added.