Chinese smartphone manufacturer and telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. raised a few eyebrows today when it announced it’s joining the Open Invention Network, which is the world’s largest “patent nonaggression” community.

The OIN’s stated mission is to enable Linux programmers to develop and make money from open-source software without worrying about any legal challenges relating to patents.

The way it works is that members agree to cross-license any Linux system patents they own to other members on a royalty-free basis. The OIN also has its own patents, which are similarly licensed royalty-free to any entity that agrees not to assert its patents against the organization’s members.

That Huawei is joining the OIN might shock some readers, given that the company doesn’t exactly enjoy the best reputation, having been charged with racketeering and conspiracy to steal trade secrets by the U.S. Department of Justice. Huawei has also famously made $6 billion in patent royalties since 2001, with about 80% of that revenue derived from U.S. firms.

Nevertheless, Huawei remains a key contributor to several Linux programs, including the Linux Kernel itself. It’s also a Platinum member of the Linux Foundation and owns a vast trove of intellectual property related to telecommunications.

Keith Bergelt, chief executive officer of OIN, said he was encouraged by Huawei’s decision to join.

“Linux-based platforms, including Linux Foundation networking projects such as the Open Platform for NFV and the Open Networking Automation Platform, are enabling service providers and enterprises to provision new levels of functionality across cloud and software defined networks at an unprecedented pace,” he said.

As for Huawei’s motivations in joining, its IP chief Jianxin Ding explained that Linux software is a critical element of many of the technologies it’s developing and integrating with carriers and enterprises around the world. “By joining the OIN, we are showing our continued commitment to innovation, and supporting it with patent non-aggression in Linux and other core open source projects,” he added.

“After making its AI framework open source, Huawei is now looking at Linux,” said Constellation Research Inc. analyst Holger Mueller. “Ironically Linux has been open source from its inception. But licensing and IP issues are always around the corner and that is something vendors want to avoid.”

Photo: Michael Thielen/Flickr