The Cloud Native Heroes Challenge

The broad objectives

We’re asking Cloud Native Heroes to find examples of what’s known as “prior art” which is publicly available information that an invention already existed prior to the date the patent application was filed. Patents are meant to protect new or “novel” inventions, so the existence of “prior art” can be used to show that the patent is invalid and therefore neutralize the troll’s ability to weaponize it. 

This is complicated, and likely an area new to many participants in our community. Due to the success and increasing ubiquity of cloud native, patent troll aggression towards adopters of Kubernetes and other CNCF projects is on the rise, so this is going to potentially have a widespread impact.

Understand the contest details

Swag gift for all participants

Each entrant in a Cloud Native Heroes Challenge contest who submits a qualified entry will receive a “Cloud Native Heroes” branded swag item (e.g., a t-shirt or water bottle) that you can pick up from the CNCF store at any KubeCon+CloudNativeCon conference. After the contest closes and we confirm that your entry meets the requirements in the instructions and rules for the contest, we will send you instructions by email for how to pick up your swag gift.

Prize for winner

The winner will receive the prize described in the contest description. The price for most contests is a cash award ranging from USD $1,000 to $3,000+. Some contests may also include other benefits, such as a complimentary ticket to attend an upcoming CNCF conference as the prize. All prizes are non-transferable and non-substitutable, except at the sole discretion of the contest hosts, Unified Patents and CNCF.

Winner selection and announcement

Each contest will have a single winner. The winner will be notified by email that they are the winner after the close of the contest period. The winner’s first name and last initial will be published on the contest website. 

If the winner gives us permission, we may also recognize them (using their full name and photo) in a CNCF blog post or onstage at a CNCF conference.

Publication of winning submission

The prior art from the winning submission for each contest will be published on the Unified Patents website so that any company can use the prior art to defend itself if the patent being challenged in the contest is asserted against them.

Judging criteria

The winner will be selected by Unified Patents prior art experts based on the following criteria:

1. Adherence to contest rules
2. Quality, strength, and usefulness of the prior art reference
3. Depth of analysis, and
4. Attention to detail.

If multiple contestants submit the same prior art and would be tied as the winner, Unified will at its discretion select the winner based either on either (a) who submitted their entry first or (b) clarity, quality, and readability of the entry.

Eligibility requirements

1. You must be the age of majority in the country and region where you reside.
2. Employees of Unified Patents, the Linux Foundation, or CNCF, and their immediate family members or members of the same household are not eligible to participate.

How to participate

See the Participation Instructions for step-by-step instructions and detailed information about  how to conduct a prior art search and submit an entry.

Additional resources

Instructions & “how to” videos

Our Participation Instructions contain step-by-step instructions, helpful hints, FAQ, and links to “how to” videos and tutorials.

Have questions? Want one-on-one help? 

After you review our Participation Instructions, if you still have questions, or would like to schedule a one-on-one help session with a member of our Heroes Challenge team, please message us at [email protected] or in the CNCF Slack channel #heroes-challenge.

We are happy to provide guidance on any aspect of the process–whether it’s how to search for prior art, how to use the contest platform, or how to construct a claim chart.

Onsite support at Project Pavilion @ KubeCon+CloudNativeCon

If you have questions, you can also come find us at the Project Pavilion at any KubeCon+CloudNativeCon.

Frequently asked questions

What are patent trolls?

Patent trolls are businesses whose sole purpose is to threaten technology adopters with patent lawsuits in order to extract money from them. They typically buy their patents from companies that are going out of business. Then they threaten as many companies as they can with patent litigation. Even when a patent troll’s legal claims are frivolous and meritless, companies will sometimes pay settlement fees to trolls to avoid the even higher cost of litigation. You can learn more about patent trolls and their business model from this video.

Why are patent trolls a threat to cloud native open source?

Patent trolls target any broadly adopted successful technology–whether open source or closed source–because it’s profitable to do so. Due to the success and increasing ubiquity of cloud native open source, patent troll aggression towards adopters of Kubernetes and other CNCF projects is on the rise.

What is prior art and how can it help deter patent trolls?

“Prior art” means information about an invention that was already publicly available at the time the patent application was filed. Prior art can be used to invalidate a patent, because it demonstrates that the patent invention wasn’t new or “novel” at the time of the patent application, and thus the patent shouldn’t have been granted in the first place. Thus, prior art can neutralize or weaken a patent troll’s ability to weaponize their patent. 

Who is Unified Patents? 

Unified Patents is the only organization that deters abusive patent trolls using offensive community-driven strategies. The Linux Foundation has partnered with Unified Patents since 2019 on patent troll deterrence programs to safeguard open source innovation. CNCF recently launched an expanded partnership with Unified Patents to deter trolls from preying on CNCF projects. 

How can I participate in the Cloud Native Heroes Challenge?

For more information about how to participate, read our Participation Instructions, which contain step-by-step instructions and links to “how to” videos and tutorials. If you still have questions, please message us via the CNCF Slack channel #heroes-challenge or [email protected].