Newlink joins the Open Invention Network community

Published April 25, 2024

According to Autovista, registrations for plug-in automobiles grew 46% year on year, reaching a record 980,737 units in China. The growth in EV car sales requires sufficient infrastructure to support the growing demand for convenient electricity charging. NaaS Technology, a subsidiary of NewLink, has more than 73,700 charging stations, representing 50.0% of China’s EV public charging market share.

Open source software powers Newlink’s expanding new energy asset network. As the leading new energy asset operator in China, NaaS is reinforcing its commitment to open source as an enabler of advanced charging infrastructure networks by joining the Open Invention Network.

“Globally, electric vehicles continue to make significant advances in the market. Sustaining this growth is an expanding set of advanced charging infrastructure networks,” said Keith Bergelt, CEO of Open Invention Network. “NewLink and NaaS are market-leading companies utilizing open-source platforms to build charging networks. We are pleased that NewLink and NaaS are committed to patent non-aggression in core Linux and adjacent open-source technologies.

As the largest patent non-aggression community in history, Open Invention Network supports freedom of action in Linux as a key element of open-source software. Funded by Google, IBM, NEC, Philips, Sony, SUSE, and Toyota, the Open Invention Network has more than 3,800 community members. The OIN patent license and member cross-licenses are available royalty-free to any party that joins its community.

“NewLink has been committed to the deep integration of digitalization and the energy industry and continues to explore the best technologies to improve energy utilization to better serve partners across the industry chain. Linux systems and open source technologies provide support for digitalization, and we appreciate OIN’s contribution to reducing the risk of open source software patents around the world,” said Mingyi Jin, Vice President and General Legal Counsel at NewLink. “We value the protection of intellectual property rights and also respect the intellectual property rights of others. We look forward to continuing to play a role in protecting open source patents and open collaboration after joining OIN.”