Sorry, Danny DeVito, today at KubeCon Day 1, it’s officially Wabbit Season on patent trolls with (basically) a troll patent invalidation bounty, and the Troll Toll will NOT be paid. A new Partnership with the CNCF and Linux Foundation gives members an affiliation with Unified Patents. Patent trolls are increasingly targeting popular open-source projects like Kubernetes. These entities (often shell companies) don’t create or sell anything; instead, they demand “tolls” (aka settlement fees, aka legalized extortion) by threatening lawsuits against those using similar tech.
Today it was announced that community members can help by providing evidence that the troll’s patent idea wasn’t actually new at the time of filing—known as “prior art.” This might include older tech documents, standards, or blog posts that can show the patent isn’t unique. This is OPEN WARFARE, and I am here for it. The CNCF hopes this effort will help avoid paying any “tolls” and keep open source accessible, as it should be.
With the new Cloud Native Heroes Challenge, CNCF kicks off its first crowdsourced prior art contest, inviting community members to help deter these trolls. Participants can earn swag and prizes while protecting the ecosystem from needless tolls. The CNCF is going on the offense and it is great to see a leading organization take a strong stance on this. So, umm, who's down to make a few bucks? Anyone?
SWAG OF THE DAY:
I won a Star Wars Lego set: the Millennium Falcon. What do you think tops that?
Honorable Mention:
I’m sectioning this as I attend sessions. Starting from the back, I picked up my shirt from the corner store and have yet to make my way to the front.
OSO is giving out full-sized TEDDY BEARS. Come on, that’s pretty hard to compete with. I have a niece who specifically asked for this.
When you get the chance, check out the DEVTRON booth—or their services. Plus, they have good swag as well.
There are a couple of vendors running raffles for a Nintendo Switch tomorrow, so if I win one, that’s automatically swag of the day.
JOBS:
Here are pics from the job board. I'll be sharing more as the week progresses.
Miscellenous shots from today:
