What Microsoft’s open source announcement means for developers
Change is in the air.
Microsoft recently joined the Open Invention Network (OIN) and agreed to give royalty-free, unrestricted licenses to its patent portfolio to OIN members, signaling a big shift in its relationship with the open source community.
We asked two of our expert authors what they make of this move. Here’s what they said.
Jeremy Morgan
Tech blogger and hacker
“By joining the OIN and open-sourcing 60,000 patents, Microsoft is sending a clear message that old days of clinging to patents are over. And nothing says “I’m in” like putting in all your chips. This change matters because the OIN taking ownership of these patents, meaning developers can produce more software in key areas without worrying about legal obstacles that may arise.
Developers generally don’t have a large legal team at their disposal, and with less legal worries they can focus on innovating and developing. The move enables more fluid and rapid software development, and of course, greater collaboration. Both Microsoft and the open source community benefits from this contribution, which removes a significant hurdle and allows good ideas to flourish.”
Anthony Nocentino
Enterprise Architect at Centino Systems
“This is a new Microsoft. Over the last two years, we’ve seen cross-platform initiatives in the Data Platform with SQL Server on Linux, in the developer world with .NET Core and in the tooling world with PowerShell Core. Surprising nearly everyone, Microsoft even open-sourced PowerShell Core. So you can literally go to GitHub and submit code that’s part of a core Microsoft product. That’s just crazy if you look back and think about Microsoft’s historic stance with open-source technologies and communities.
Microsoft is certainly showing the open-source world what they’re made of with their actions. They’ve changed their stance on one of the most protected assets they have — their patent portfolio. If you look back, Microsoft has historically built, rather than used, the tools available in the community. And the technical innovations of those solutions built were held behind the gates in Redmond. No more. After today’s announcement, the innovations and techniques built over the last 30 years will be available royalty-free with unrestricted licenses to members of the Open Invention Network (OIN).
It’s another milestone in the journey of the new Microsoft. They’re showing the open source community and the world that things have changed and that Microsoft is truly embracing an openness in it actions, and putting developers and the community first. (Though they did add some exceptions — Windows and desktop application code. Once can only postulate as to why that’s the case. Perhaps in the future even these assets will become available to the rest of the world.)”
What do you think of Microsoft open-sourcing a good part of their patent library?
