Novell is behind at this point [LWN.net]

Novell is behind at this point

Posted Jan 11, 2005 20:18 UTC (Tue) by Ross (subscriber, #4065)
In reply to: Novell is behind at this point by XERC
Parent article: IBM frees 500 patents

No, that part means it only covers GPLed software. However JoeBuck failed to
mention that Novell also promised to use their patents to protect open source
projects from outside patent claims.

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Novell is behind at this point

Posted Jan 11, 2005 21:34 UTC (Tue) by JoeBuck (subscriber, #2330) [Link]

As I read Novell's patent policy, they've only pledged to defend open source software that they have developed (e.g. Ximian Evolution), or that they market, sell, or support.

Just the same, the actions of Novell, IBM, and Red Hat are helpful, and are likely to dissuade large software companies from attacking Linux or GNU (because they are vulnerable to a counterattack). The biggest vulnerability may come from a lawyers-only company that somehow owns an important patent (fortunately, SCO doesn't have any significant patents).