Patent Wars. Episode 1. Hidden threat
Author: Ilya Stechkin
Let's talk about what changes are waiting for the community on the eve of the meeting of the Board of Directors of the OpenStack Foundation , which is scheduled for January 28. All 24 directors (including two from Mirantis) will gather in order to discuss, in particular, the commercial ecosystem of this non-proprietary platform, as well as the principles for the existence of several solutions of similar functionality in the core of the project (big tent). But perhaps the main theme of the board will be the problem of intellectual property, which may seem strange, because we are talking about an open source environment.
Typical holivar - author software against open. The arguments are also traditional: both for clients and developers. The consumer of a software product has to choose: reliability versus flexibility, guaranteed functionality versus creative search for solutions among like-minded people (the second option makes sense to discuss only if the customer’s side basically has technical competencies), the ability to shift responsibility to the developer (a very important argument ) against the need to participate in the search and implementation of solutions. It’s also not easy for developers to decide which is better: a simple commercial model, but a highly competitive market and the need to constantly “step on the throat of your own song” or the freedom of creativity while continuously looking for ways to make money. Often, a specialist can earn his daily bread from a company engaged in the development of a proprietary product, and in his spare time for the soul to contribute to some open-source project.
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However, it seems that OpenStack managed to “cross the bulldog with the rhino” (including with our help): on the one hand, to create a fairly stable product, convenient for deploying the cloud and its subsequent management ( Fuel ), a flexible project (not accidentally in the release of Mirantis OpenStack 6.0, special attention was paid to plugins) and convenient for testing ( Tempest , Rally ), which has the ability to include powerful tools from the outside ( Sahara: hadoop clusters in OpenStack ). It would be an exaggeration to say that OpenStack has already become an enterprise solution, but it seems that it has come close to this. Evidence of this is the beginning of the patent war. Well, people in suits and ties appearing at the annual summits are also a sure sign that the technology is coming out of adolescence, is growing up and attracting the attention of a solid public, and not just the enthusiasts of the development process.
As Jodi Smith writes in a blog on our company's official website (the text is in English), there is a concern that high-tech companies that make money by winning intellectual property litigation can pay attention to OpenStack. There are already precedents (here is also a link to an English-language source. It is not necessary to read. This is a pruflink). Let the call not yet be heard: the proprietary countries of all countries - unite to fight OpenStack, and the leadership of the OpenStack Foundation, and the community is forced to think about how the ecosystem as a whole is defended in the event of further patent disputes. And there is no doubt that as the technology matures, such disputes will be fought more and more. Technologies, like people, are losing allies, becoming independent market players. It seems that OpenStack is also time to participate in the great battle of the dough with evil.
Participation in patent disputes is costly. With licensing fees, vendors can stifle small high-tech companies, thereby controlling market conditions. In this regard, it is necessary to solve a difficult question: how to defend against “patent trolls”? In fact, the question is even more complicated: should the management of the foundation direct efforts to combat patent risks and protect members of the OpenStack community, or should contributors (individual programmers and companies involved in the platform development process) defend themselves? No answers yet. But there are fears related to the fact that “patent wars” may be “civil”. Do not forget that among the members of the OpenStack community there are large companies that are competing with each other.
OpenStack, following the example of the Linux ecosystem, uses an open network of inventions ( OIN ) to protect against “patent trolls”. Judging by the fact that today Linux is the basis of most cloud platforms, this protection mechanism can work. After all, ten years ago, the very existence of Linux was in question precisely because of patent disputes. However, there is no consensus among members of the community regarding the use of this legal protection mechanism. Many are concerned that the claims may continue, and the contributing companies will be the source of the threat. Thus, three companies ( HP , Oracle , and Symantec ) only partially accepted the OIN terms, agreeing that they do not apply to their future inventions. Thus, they have access to all the achievements of the community and at any time can use them to create products that are not subject to OIN. Having patented one or another development, these companies can attack OpenStack. The question is whether.
I want to believe that common sense and understanding of the benefits of the community for the business of each of its participants will prevail over short-term interests. It is likely that the creation of the platform’s commercial ecosystem, which was mentioned at the beginning, will also contribute to this. If it will be clear to everyone what the mechanics of making a profit from the “jointly acquired property” are, it is unlikely that anyone will refuse to continue replenishing this property. In the end, questions about the division of property arise when one of the spouses is unable to fulfill the marital debt. Perhaps none of the players in the IT market will want to admit to their own creative impotence. Yes, even in such a scandalous way. Of course, you can “fill up” the project now, tear down the created ecosystem for patents and drag your prey in the beak. But in the long run it is unlikely to be economically feasible.
Several paradoxical conclusions on the basis of the current situation. Firstly, what is happening is definitely a cause for optimism of OpenStack users. No matter how the situation develops as a result of discussions, today each of the project participants (the active participation of contributors in the project can be viewed here ) has gained tremendous benefits from it. This also applies to breakthroughs in solving problems of scalability, reliability and security of products that exist within the OpenStack ecosystem. If you have not tried to implement your cloud strategy using OpenStack - it's time to do it.
From this follows a second unexpected conclusion: OpenStack already needs not only the interest of developers (this goal has been fully achieved), but the credibility of the technology implementation sites. It is especially important to achieve this understanding among Russian companies. Judge for yourself: today this ecosystem does not depend on a specific vendor. Developers from Russia, China, India, Korea, USA, Western Europe make their contribution to the project ... The principle vendor agnostic (independence from a particular manufacturer) is what makes OpenStack the ideal solution for implementing cloud strategies by domestic companies of various levels ( from hosting providers and telecom operators to global government projects such as telemedicine, logistics) and fully complies with the tasks of import substitution and creating an internal infrastructure for storing and processing large arrays of nnyh.
Let's talk about what changes are waiting for the community on the eve of the meeting of the Board of Directors of the OpenStack Foundation , which is scheduled for January 28. All 24 directors (including two from Mirantis) will gather in order to discuss, in particular, the commercial ecosystem of this non-proprietary platform, as well as the principles for the existence of several solutions of similar functionality in the core of the project (big tent). But perhaps the main theme of the board will be the problem of intellectual property, which may seem strange, because we are talking about an open source environment.
New reason for the old holivar
Typical holivar - author software against open. The arguments are also traditional: both for clients and developers. The consumer of a software product has to choose: reliability versus flexibility, guaranteed functionality versus creative search for solutions among like-minded people (the second option makes sense to discuss only if the customer’s side basically has technical competencies), the ability to shift responsibility to the developer (a very important argument ) against the need to participate in the search and implementation of solutions. It’s also not easy for developers to decide which is better: a simple commercial model, but a highly competitive market and the need to constantly “step on the throat of your own song” or the freedom of creativity while continuously looking for ways to make money. Often, a specialist can earn his daily bread from a company engaged in the development of a proprietary product, and in his spare time for the soul to contribute to some open-source project.
')
However, it seems that OpenStack managed to “cross the bulldog with the rhino” (including with our help): on the one hand, to create a fairly stable product, convenient for deploying the cloud and its subsequent management ( Fuel ), a flexible project (not accidentally in the release of Mirantis OpenStack 6.0, special attention was paid to plugins) and convenient for testing ( Tempest , Rally ), which has the ability to include powerful tools from the outside ( Sahara: hadoop clusters in OpenStack ). It would be an exaggeration to say that OpenStack has already become an enterprise solution, but it seems that it has come close to this. Evidence of this is the beginning of the patent war. Well, people in suits and ties appearing at the annual summits are also a sure sign that the technology is coming out of adolescence, is growing up and attracting the attention of a solid public, and not just the enthusiasts of the development process.
Propriety of all countries unite
As Jodi Smith writes in a blog on our company's official website (the text is in English), there is a concern that high-tech companies that make money by winning intellectual property litigation can pay attention to OpenStack. There are already precedents (here is also a link to an English-language source. It is not necessary to read. This is a pruflink). Let the call not yet be heard: the proprietary countries of all countries - unite to fight OpenStack, and the leadership of the OpenStack Foundation, and the community is forced to think about how the ecosystem as a whole is defended in the event of further patent disputes. And there is no doubt that as the technology matures, such disputes will be fought more and more. Technologies, like people, are losing allies, becoming independent market players. It seems that OpenStack is also time to participate in the great battle of the dough with evil.
Do they have patents or us?
Participation in patent disputes is costly. With licensing fees, vendors can stifle small high-tech companies, thereby controlling market conditions. In this regard, it is necessary to solve a difficult question: how to defend against “patent trolls”? In fact, the question is even more complicated: should the management of the foundation direct efforts to combat patent risks and protect members of the OpenStack community, or should contributors (individual programmers and companies involved in the platform development process) defend themselves? No answers yet. But there are fears related to the fact that “patent wars” may be “civil”. Do not forget that among the members of the OpenStack community there are large companies that are competing with each other.
OpenStack, following the example of the Linux ecosystem, uses an open network of inventions ( OIN ) to protect against “patent trolls”. Judging by the fact that today Linux is the basis of most cloud platforms, this protection mechanism can work. After all, ten years ago, the very existence of Linux was in question precisely because of patent disputes. However, there is no consensus among members of the community regarding the use of this legal protection mechanism. Many are concerned that the claims may continue, and the contributing companies will be the source of the threat. Thus, three companies ( HP , Oracle , and Symantec ) only partially accepted the OIN terms, agreeing that they do not apply to their future inventions. Thus, they have access to all the achievements of the community and at any time can use them to create products that are not subject to OIN. Having patented one or another development, these companies can attack OpenStack. The question is whether.
I want to believe that common sense and understanding of the benefits of the community for the business of each of its participants will prevail over short-term interests. It is likely that the creation of the platform’s commercial ecosystem, which was mentioned at the beginning, will also contribute to this. If it will be clear to everyone what the mechanics of making a profit from the “jointly acquired property” are, it is unlikely that anyone will refuse to continue replenishing this property. In the end, questions about the division of property arise when one of the spouses is unable to fulfill the marital debt. Perhaps none of the players in the IT market will want to admit to their own creative impotence. Yes, even in such a scandalous way. Of course, you can “fill up” the project now, tear down the created ecosystem for patents and drag your prey in the beak. But in the long run it is unlikely to be economically feasible.
Reason for optimism and credibility
Several paradoxical conclusions on the basis of the current situation. Firstly, what is happening is definitely a cause for optimism of OpenStack users. No matter how the situation develops as a result of discussions, today each of the project participants (the active participation of contributors in the project can be viewed here ) has gained tremendous benefits from it. This also applies to breakthroughs in solving problems of scalability, reliability and security of products that exist within the OpenStack ecosystem. If you have not tried to implement your cloud strategy using OpenStack - it's time to do it.
From this follows a second unexpected conclusion: OpenStack already needs not only the interest of developers (this goal has been fully achieved), but the credibility of the technology implementation sites. It is especially important to achieve this understanding among Russian companies. Judge for yourself: today this ecosystem does not depend on a specific vendor. Developers from Russia, China, India, Korea, USA, Western Europe make their contribution to the project ... The principle vendor agnostic (independence from a particular manufacturer) is what makes OpenStack the ideal solution for implementing cloud strategies by domestic companies of various levels ( from hosting providers and telecom operators to global government projects such as telemedicine, logistics) and fully complies with the tasks of import substitution and creating an internal infrastructure for storing and processing large arrays of nnyh.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/248777/
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