The Clearing House operates U.S.-based payments networks that clear and settle more than $2 trillion of financial transactions each day through wire, ACH, check image and real-time payments. It works with all U.S. banks. The Clearing House is also the nation’s most experienced payments company, with a long track record of providing secure and reliable systems and payments innovations.
In 2017, it revolutionized U.S. payments by introducing the RTP® network, which supports the immediate clearing and settlement of payments, along with the ability to exchange related payment information across the same secure channel. The RTP network’s capabilities enable all financial institutions to offer safer, faster and smarter digital transaction services for their corporate and retail customers.
Historically, financial services companies have leveraged open source software through platforms and systems provided by their technology suppliers. Today, most financial services companies are building, innovating and integrating Fintech themselves. In doing so, financial services companies increasingly rely on open source as they build robust platforms and apps that require state-of-the-art security, scalability and availability.
Open Invention Network (OIN), the organization formed to safeguard open source software and the largest patent non-aggression community in history, has announced that The Clearing House has joined as a community member.
“We remain focused on integrating the best technologies in our payment networks, which help to deliver services that our banks’ customers value and trust. We enable all financial institutions to offer safer, faster, and smarter digital transaction services, and open source is a significant innovation driver in these offerings,” said Sean Reilly, Senior Vice President and Associate General Counsel at The Clearing House. “We are pleased to join the Open Invention Network and support its role in protecting open source software.”
“Advancements in financial services and Fintech increasingly rely on open source technologies,” said Keith Bergelt, CEO of Open Invention Network. “As the most experienced payment company in the U.S., and a keystone for the financial services industry, we are pleased that The Clearing House is committed to patent non-aggression in core Linux and adjacent open source technologies.”
Patent non-aggression in core technologies is a cultural norm within open source software community, so that the litmus test for authentic behavior in includes membership in Open Invention Network. Funded by Google, IBM, NEC, Philips, Sony, SUSE and Toyota, OIN has more than 3,700 community members.
Open Invention Network’s community practices 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. Patents owned by Open Invention Network are similarly licensed royalty-free to any organization that agrees not to assert its patents against the Linux System. Its patent license and member cross-licenses are available for free to any party that joins the OIN community.
