Open Invention Network (OIN), the organization formed to safeguard open source and now the largest patent non-aggression community in history, announced today that NatWest Group (NatWest) has joined as a community member. As a leader in delivering digital-based banking services to people and businesses in the U.K. and Ireland, NatWest is reinforcing its commitment to open source software (OSS) as an enabler of advanced financial services and mobile banking platforms.

“The financial services and fintech industries rely on open source technologies to deliver their services, and they are increasingly bringing technology development in-house,” said Keith Bergelt, CEO of Open Invention Network. “We are pleased that NatWest, which has demonstrated leadership in open innovation through FINOS and other initiatives, is committed to patent non-aggression in core Linux and adjacent open source technologies.”

"Demonstrating its commitment to open innovation, NatWest is a Gold member in FINOS, the main global organization aiming to move the entire financial services industry toward collaboration through open source and FDC3 standards. NatWest is also building on its foundations of open banking by creating the ‘Bank of APIs’ – an API ecosystem that brings an increasingly wide variety of our services to customers and partners in new and innovative ways. Open is important to us,” said Declan O’Gorman, Head of Enterprise Engineering at NatWest Group. “As such we are proud to join the Open Invention Network, and support its role in protecting open source software from patent aggression.”

As a community, OIN members practice 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. Please join our community. The membership form and the OIN license agreement can be signed online at http://www.j-oin.net/.