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Today Kakao Corporation announces an OpenChain ISO/IEC 5230 conformant program. Kakao Corporation is South Korea’s mobile life platform company that provides innovative services in global mobile and internet markets.

“More industries are increasing their use of open source, which importance is increasing day after day” says Charles Chung, CTO of Kakao. “Kakao will proactively share the open source competency we have accumulated to spearhead advancements in the development ecosystem. By acquiring certification for the International Standard for open source compliance, OpenChain ISO 5230, Kakao has been recognized for our ability to use open source. The OpenChain ISO 5230 certification will also help strengthen the reputation of ‘Olive Platform’, Kakao’s open source license identification and verification service.”

“The Korean community has been instrumental in building and supporting OpenChain ISO/IEC 5230, the International standard for open source license compliance,” says Shane Coughlan, OpenChain General Manager. “We are delighted to celebrate today’s conformance announcements by Kakao and KakaoBank, underlining the leadership and energy in the local market. Our shared supply chain is becoming clearer, more trusted and more efficient thanks to these efforts.”

About Kakao

Kakao Corporation is a mobile life platform company that provides innovative services in global mobile and internet markets, building on its employees with profound knowledge and experience, technological capabilities, quality contents and highly competitive mobile traffic. Under the corporate vision, “Making a better world with people and technology”, we connect everything in our everyday lives, enabling anyone to experience innovations on a daily basis. The Kakao Corporation headquarters can be found on Jeju Island, with an integrated metropolitan office in Pangyo, where over 2,300 employees in total are working today. Daum Communications, established in 1995, and Kakao, founded in 2006, merged on October 1, 2014 to become Daum Kakao. The name of the company was changed to Kakao on September 23, 2015 to become a company that stands at the forefront of the mobile era.

Today Kakaobank announces an OpenChain ISO/IEC 5230 conformant program. It is the first financial company in Korea and the second worldwide to formally adopt the International Standard for open source compliance.

“The use of open source is a trend and essential for all IT industries,” says Shin Jae-Hong, Chief Information Officer(CIO) of Kakaobank. “As Kakaobank is the first Korean financial company to be a part of OpenChain, We will accelerate innovative financial business possibilities through Ai, Big data, and Cloud based on our open source ability”

“The Korean community has been instrumental in building and supporting OpenChain ISO/IEC 5230, the International standard for open source license compliance,” says Shane Coughlan, OpenChain General Manager. “We are delighted to celebrate today’s conformance announcements by Kakao and KakaoBank, underlining the leadership and energy in the local market. Our shared supply chain is becoming clearer, more trusted and more efficient thanks to these efforts.”

About Kakaobank

Kakaobank is the biggest mobile-first bank in South Korea. Established in January 2016, the bank launched its public service in July 2017 after obtaining a final full banking license in April 2017. The bank attracted 240,000 customers within the first 24 hours of starting service. At the end of December 2021, Kakaobank holds 17.9 million users and 15.7 million account holders, around 60% of economically-active population in South Korea.

Kakaobank provides full-banking products via its mobile application, enabling customers to enjoy our services easier and faster. Kakaobank is looking to become a customer-centric bank under our slogan of “Helping you use banking services easier in your daily life” by providing a variety of essential financial products.

Over the last 12 months there have been several noteworthy concerns around open source and security. The exposure of vulnerability in software has exposed underlying issues with process management and ultimately with sustainability. The OpenChain Project, steward of ISO/IEC 5230:2020, the International Standard for open source compliance, has been at the forefront of addressing these matters.

In August 2021 we responded to market demand by releasing a Security Assurance Reference Guide. The first version of this document explained how ISO/IEC 5230 could be used through the optics of security. Like all our documentation, it was developed and released in the public arena, and subject to review and contributions from a wide array of stakeholders.

We are now working on the second iteration of this document. It does for security what ISO/IEC 5230 did for compliance: it provides a minimal, broadly applicable list of key requirements to institute a quality assurance program to address the domain space.

We do not intend to replace existing security standards. We do not intend to bloat ISO/IEC 5230. Instead, we are pursuing our proven approach of developing a real-world solution for a real-world problem that can be immediately deployed, and over time fits together with adjacent activities as neatly as a jigsaw puzzle.

For those new to this topic and wondering what OpenChain’s engagement means in practice, a summary of our Specification Work Group discussions throughout 2020-2021 is in order.

We are considering three paths for the security domain. One sees the Security Assurance Reference Guide maintaining its stance solely as a guide. Another sees the Security Assurance Reference Guide evolve into a Reference Specification that may become a de facto industry standard over time. Lastly, there is the option to have the Security Assurance Reference Guide evolve into an optional component for a future iteration of ISO/IEC 5230.

You can contribute to this activity by joining our bi-weekly global work team calls [1], our specification mailing list [2], and opening issues on the relevant repository in GitHub [3].

1. https://www.openchainproject.org/community
2. https://lists.openchainproject.org/g/specification
3. https://github.com/OpenChain-Project/SecurityAssuranceGuide/tree/main/Guide/2.0

The OpenChain Project is far from alone in helping to address concerns around open source and security. The Open Source Security Foundation (OpenSSF) is a sister project at the Linux Foundation dedicated to securing the open source ecosystem. The Software Package Data Exchange Project (SPDX) maintains ISO/IEC 5962:2021, an International Standard for Software Bill of Materials. The Linux Foundation also hosts tools to help with automation in the space. We are collaborating to ensure the future of open source is secure.

You can expect a continuation of these activities throughout 2022. There will be an excellent opportunity for you to get involved during this quarter, as the OpenChain Project hosts a security summit to enable our extensive global community to share notes. To learn more about this, as well as our other activities, join one of our calls or one of our mailing lists. Everyone is welcome.

Get Started With Our Community

• https://www.openchainproject.org/community

Attend The OpenChain Security Summit On February 17th and 18th

• https://www.openchainproject.org/featured/2022/02/10/security-summit-2022

The Security Summit will take place on February 17th 2022 at 18:00 PST / February 18th 2022 02:00 UTC / 10:00 CST / 11:00 JST. It will be hosted on Zoom and it will be free to attend. It will also be recorded. You can expect to come away with a clear understanding of market conditions, how the Linux Foundation is addressing them, and where OpenChain fits into the picture.

The OpenChain Project will host three summits throughout 2022. Each summit will be virtual though our positioning and agenda will reflect a different geography for each topic covered. Here is what you can expect:

1. Security (North America) on the 17th and 18th of February depending on your location
2. Intellectual Property (China/Japan) – on the 17th and 18th of March depending on your location
3. Automation (Germany) – Schedule Announced Soon

The Security Summit will take place on February 17th 2022 at 18:00 PST / February 18th 2022 02:00 UTC / 10:00 CST / 11:00 JST. It will be hosted on Zoom and it will be free to attend. It will also be recorded. You can expect to come away with a clear understanding of market conditions, how the Linux Foundation is addressing them, and where OpenChain fits into the picture.

The Intellectual Property Summit will take place on March 17th 2022 at 18:00 PST / February 18th 2022 02:00 UTC / 10:00 CST / 11:00 JST. It will be hosted on Zoom and it will be free to attend. It will also be recorded. You can expect it to provide a snapshot of current thinking around copyright, trademarks and patents in our domain

The date and times of the Automation Summit will be announced shortly. You can expect it to brief you on the state-of-the-art around automation for compliance, security and project health.

The goal – as always – is to ensure you have the information necessary to make informed, effective decisions around the open source supply chain. We seek to build trust in the quality of programs used by you, your customers and your suppliers. We are proud to have taken significant strides in our field throughout 2021. We expect to push the boundaries of what is possible once again in 2022.

The OpenChain Japan Work Group will hold their 22nd meeting on the 21st of January. This meeting will take place between 15:00 and 16:00 with a case study covering Mercari’s Open Source Program Office (OSPO). Big thank you, as usual, to SocioNext for hosting us.

開催案内】【第22回全体会合（第9回オンライン会合）】
次回のOpenChain Japan Workgroup全体会合の開催案内です。第22回全体会合（第9回オンライン会合）を
2022年1月21日(金)15:00-16:00に開催します。
本講演は録画無しとなりますので、是非当日ご参加ください。場所(Venue)：Zoom
https://socionext.zoom.us/j/99975267803?pwd=ekhxaHA3bVZUSVU5M0dVMkF2Z0pkQT09
Meeting ID: 99975267803 / パスワード: ]>guXS~6アジェンダ：
15:00 – 15:02 Opening
15:02 – 15:10 Keynote   by ShaneCoughlan
15:10 – 15:20 OpenChain Japan WGについて
15:20 – 16:00 事例紹介: 「メルカリのOSPO立ち上げ事例」
　　　　　　　株式会社メルカリ
　　　　　　　Intellectual Property マネージャ弁理士
　　　　　　　上野英和
16:00 Closing今回は、事例紹介ということで、メルカリにおけるOSPO立ち上げ
を紹介して頂く予定です。 

Learn More About The Japan Work Group

• https://openchain-project.github.io/OpenChain-JWG/

Leading intellectual property firm, Marks and Clerk France is now able to advise clients in the implementation of open source programs, and enable them to achieve OpenChain ISO/ IEC 5230 standard.

To facilitate this advancement, Marks and Clerk France, is pleased to announce a partnership with the OpenChain Project, able to assess and advise on open source program to OpenChain ISO/ IEC 5230 standard.    

Open Source Software is becoming increasingly common in software projects of all types, bringing with it both exciting opportunities but legal risks. ISO 5230 OpenChain has been developed to allow companies of all sizes, and from all sectors, to adopt the key requirements of a quality open source compliance program, and effectively manage potential  risks. Marks and Clerk France offers considerable expertise and experience to support clients to strengthen existing processes, and build a standard compliant process from the ground up.

Enrico Priori, Managing Partner of Marks and Clerk France stated, “We are pleased to announce that Marks and Clerk France has been selected as the first OpenChain Acredited Partner in France. This partnership demonstrates the deep expertise and experience of Marks and Clerk France’s Software Licensing practice to support our clients in adopting high-quality open source compliance programs. As a firm, we are hugely committed to the strengths of the Open Source movement, and are excited to work with our clients to help them fully benefit from – and contribute to – this brave new world.”

“OpenChain ISO 5230 provides a compelling solution to quality open source compliance,” says Shane Coughlan, OpenChain General Manager. “OpenChain offers the freedom of choice for companies to conform via self-certification, independent assessment, or third party certification and we are delighted to name Marks and Clerk France as our first partner in the country.” 

About Marks and Clerk France

Marks & Clerk is the largest firm of intellectual property advisers in the UK and is recognised as one of the world’s leading IP firms.  Its patent and trade mark attorneys offer a full range of intellectual property services – covering patents, trade marks, designs and copyright – for clients ranging from SMEs and spinouts to universities and multinationals. 

Marks and Clerk France was founded in 2005 as a spin-out of the in-house Intellectual Property Law department of a major French Aerospace and Defense Group. These in-house origins have left the firm with an exceptional grasp of the needs and priorities of their clients, which has been further reinforced over the intervening years by the arrival of other professionals with a similar industrial background. This in turn has led to the accumulation of a unique expertise in the management of the risks and opportunities associated with the use of Open Source material in a commercial context.

For more information contact Mark Bell mark.bell@fr.marks-clerk.com

or visit https://www.marks-clerk.com/expertise/open-source-third-party-code/

About OpenChain

The OpenChain Project maintains the International Standard for open source license compliance. This allows companies of all sizes and in all sectors to adopt the key requirements of a quality open source compliance program. This is an open standard and all parties are welcome to engage with our community, to share their knowledge, and to contribute to the future of our standard.

About The Linux Foundation

The Linux Foundation is the organization of choice for the world’s top developers and companies to build ecosystems that accelerate open technology development and industry adoption. Together with the worldwide open source community, it is solving the hardest technology problems by creating the largest shared technology investment in history. Founded in 2000, The Linux Foundation today provides tools, training and events to scale any open source project, which together deliver an economic impact not achievable by any one company. More information can be found at www.linuxfoundation.org.

The Linux Foundation has registered trademarks and uses trademarks. For a list of trademarks of The Linux Foundation, please see our trademark usage page: https://www.linuxfoundation.org/trademark-usage.

Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.

“It is with great pleasure that we welcome Chris and the rest of the team at Fieldfisher to the OpenChain Partner ecosystem,” says Shane Coughlan, OpenChain General Manager. “The availability of legal support is a vital part of ensuring an effective, efficient supply chain, and in the context of process management it can dramatically reduce uncertainty when rolling out an OpenChain ISO/IEC 5230 conformant program.”

“I am delighted to be working with OpenChain and, in doing so, supporting our clients to achieve better governance when it comes to open technologies,” says Chris Eastham, Partner, Fieldfisher.

About Fieldfisher

Fieldfisher is an exciting, forward-thinking organisation with key sector specialisms in technology, financial services, energy and natural resources, and life sciences.

In 2019, Fieldfisher was awarded a 5 star ranking for client service by The Legal 500. It was one of only five firms in the top 25 list of UK-headquartered firms to receive 5 stars based on client feedback. In 2021, our Technology and Privacy practices were top ranked as Tier 1 and Band 1 in the Legal 500 and Chambers rankings respectively, recognised as one of Europe’s leading law firms in these practices.

We regularly support the world’s biggest organisations and some of the most exciting growth companies. Our clients trust us with work that can have a huge impact on their business or organisation. 

We are a law firm built around people with all their diversity, and we strike a healthy balance between legal excellence and a down-to-earth practical approach to our clients’ needs.