News

Today the OpenChain Project announces the launch of our global Tooling Work Group. This work group, chaired by Oliver Fendt of Siemens, will see contributors from Siemens, Bosch, Toshiba, Fujitsu, Hitachi and many other companies accelerate collaboration around open source tooling for open source compliance.

This work group is focused on reducing resource costs and improving the quality of results around open source compliance activities. We use open source principles to accomplish this, creating a meritocracy producing real world solutions for real world challenges, and sharing these results with all interested parties.

1. We are making turn-key Open Source tooling for Open Source Compliance
2. We are considering what open data database(s) can support this
3. We plan to work with existing projects to make this happen (FOSSology, Software Heritage, SPDX, sw360, ClearlyDefined)

We owe a great debt to the originators of the “Sharing Creates Value” Project and to the OpenChain Japan Tooling Sub-Work Group. By aligning these two activities, and working to create a single solution, we will support increased automation across the supply chain as a whole.

Why Are We Launching This Work Group?

OpenChain is at the top of the compliance stack defining inflection points where processes should exist. We leave it up to individual companies to select the appropriate process content for their size, market and customer base. However, we provide reference material in the form of policies, process examples and checklists. Frequent requests come in regarding automation and – given that many of our member companies and our community are using open source tooling for open source compliance – it makes sense to unify and freely share this work onward.

Visit Our GitHub Repository

• https://github.com/OpenChain-Project/Reference-Material

Join Our Dedicated Mailing List

• https://groups.io/g/oss-based-compliance-tooling

On July 24th the OpenChain Japan Licensing Sub Group held a meeting at the Olympus office in Shinagawa, Tokyo.

The Education Sub Group brought an English version of the general public guide (an educational booklet to suppliers) for review and discussion.

Get the Meeting Minutes

• https://wiki.linuxfoundation.org/_media/openchain/openchain-japan-wg-licinf-20190724.pdf

Follow the Licensing Sub Group Activities

• https://wiki.linuxfoundation.org/openchain/jwg_lincense_sg_page

The OpenChain Automotive Work Group held its first face-to-face (with dial in) meeting during the larger OpenChain Workshop. This meeting had 25 physical attendees and another 6 dialing in. The minutes will be published shortly.

Join the Work Group

• https://lists.linuxfoundation.org/mailman/listinfo/openchain-automotive

The OpenChain Project hosted a Steering Committee meeting on the 19th of July as part of a wider OpenChain Workshop. This Steering Committee meeting provided an opportunity to review and raise comments around the ISO draft of our Specification. No votes were taken at this meeting, with the focus primarily on ensuring people had a chance to review the document, and with the discussion moving onto our mailing lists subsequently for more formal review.

Wang Mingyu from Fujitsu is not exactly part of the Japan workgroup, but she is a member of Asaba-san’s team. She hosted a talk entitled ‘Dandified Way to Package Management in Yocto Project’

This presentation will introduce a dnf plugin named dnf-plugin-tui works with Yocto Project to customize rootfs, manage SPDX files and source archives. By dnf-plugin-tui, you just need to reinstall or upgrade packages without rebuilding rootfs, even though you don’t have to redeploy your rootfs. So you can save up to 90% of your time, and reduce the workload for your terminal customers. In addition, dnf-plugin-tui is possible to incorporate a manifest file into a shell based on non-interactive operation, and can generate images in various formats according to user needs. This also will show Fujitsu’s contributions and plan to improve the software package management for platform such as Yocto and CIP.

Learn More

https://sched.co/RmsM

Kouki Hama from Toshiba presented the following session: ‘Using SW360 for OSS Compliance Management Process’.

SW360 is OSS tool for centrally managing software component information, license information, vulnerability information, and etc. This tool also allows you to associate project information with many software components.

Toshiba has begun centralizing information management of open source software by SW360. This made it possible to share open source information across departmental barriers. On the other hand, feedback from users obtained various issues.

Kouki will explain how Toshiba has promoted the use of open source by SW360 and will explain how to approach issues. These include issues that originate from Japan domestic requirement and issues that need to be solved beyond the boundaries of a company. Moreover, we will report on what kind of open source compliance management system Toshiba aims for.

Learn More

https://sched.co/OVtF

Satoru Ueda from Sony hosted a talk entitled ‘OSS Collaborative Leadership and the Software Supply Chain Problem’ that unpacked practical aspects of supply chain challenges and related solutions.

“Contemporary software is, in many cases, developed by the collaborative work of many developers in a large and complex supply chain network. Some of developers in the supply chain are well-acquainted with using Open Source Software, and handle it appropriately. However we must be reminded that there are still many parties in the product ecosystem that lack familiarity or experience with OSS. Product vendors cannot wait for all members to become mature in their OSS usage. Sometimes, even the OSS leaderships in different companies are required to help each other, to achieve satisfactory results.

In the OpenChain Project Japan Work Group, OSS leaders from different companies are working together to help each other resolve supply-chain issues. In this session we would like to discuss the way to help those early stage level companies. Some actual efforts and outcomes will be introduced.”

Learn More

• https://sched.co/OVrY

Fujitsu, Hitachi, Panasonic, Sony, Toshiba and Toyota took the stage on the 17th of July to share the latest activities of OpenChain Japan Work Group. This event was moderated by Masato Endo from Toyota and featured Wang Mingyu (Fujitsu), Nobuo Imada (Hitachi), Shinsuke Kato (Panasonic), Yoshitake Kobayashi (Toshiba) and Satoru Ueda (Sony).

Learn More

• https://sched.co/OVsZ

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The OpenChain Project has just launched a global Automotive Work Group. This work group already has over 80 participants from major automotive companies and supplier companies from silicon to completed components. This Work Group is spearheaded by Masato Endo from Toyota as part of our industry outreach to ensure companies around the world can benefit from our standard for open source compliance in the supply chain. 

“The adoption of open source software in the automotive industry is expanding rapidly and there is a rising awareness of its place as an essential component of future products,” says Masato Endo, Project Manager at Toyota Motor Corporation. “At the same time as embracing the potential involved it is important to the automotive industry to ensure best practices are followed. We’d like to share best practices and discuss the standard of OSS Supply Chain Management (OSS SCM) in automotive industry. This WG is also an open source project and everyone who is interested in these topics can join without restriction. I’m looking forward to future discussions with you!”

“The OpenChain Automotive Work Group provides a global, open and flat forum for companies of all sizes to engage with and improve efficiency around open source compliance in a key industrial segment,” says Shane Coughlan, OpenChain General Manager. “There is no sector more important to us as we prepare to become an ISO standard, not least because of the tremendous support and contributor we are receiving from companies involved from every geography.”

This work group is welcoming new participants. If your company is involved in the automotive industry please do not hesitate to engage with our mailing list or face-to-face meetings.

Be Part of this Work Group

• https://lists.linuxfoundation.org/mailman/listinfo/openchain-automotive

Join Our First Face-to-Face Meeting @ Open Source Summit Japan

We will hold our first Face to Face meeting on the 19th of July between 12:00 and 13:45. This will be a “brown bag” meeting, with an informal lunch provided, and with an informal conversational atmosphere. This meeting will have dial-in capability. See below for details. RSVP appreciated but not required! You can contact coughlan@linux.com for RSVP or with questions.

Hall 2A
TKP Toranmon Ekimae Conference Center 
TKP虎ノ門駅前カンファレンスセンター
Address:(2F) 1-4-3 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tōkyō-to
東京都港区虎ノ門1-4-3  2F

Map

• https://www.google.co.jp/maps/place/1-chōme-4-3+Toranomon,+Minato-ku,+Tōkyō-to+105-0001/

Join the call: https://uberconference.com/openchainproject
Optional US dial in number: 855-889-3011 
No PIN needed

If you need to use an international phone number please check:
https://www.uberconference.com/international
1. Dial the country number based on your location.
2. Enter 855 889 3011 and then # to enter the room.

The OpenChain Project is delighted to announce that Panasonic is our latest Platinum Member company. We have been collaborating closely with Kato San and his team for a considerable period, and their work has been central to the extraordinary growth and activity of the OpenChain Japan Work Group. It is fitting that we are making this announcement at the tenth meeting of the Japan Work Group, just prior to Open Source Summit Japan, when community participants will have an opportunity to meet Kato San and his team at panels and workshops related to OpenChain.

“Panasonic operates across multiple key markets for technology. Consumer electronics, automotive and aviation all play a part in their deployment of software around the world,” says Shane Coughlan, OpenChain General Manager. “This is a natural next step in our partnership and it provides a significant boost to our goal of addressing critical markets like automotive and in providing open source compliance excellence to suppliers of all sizes.”

Learn More About Panasonic

• https://www.panasonic.com/global/corporate/history/chronicle.html