Samba Team Asks Novell to Reconsider

Samba Team Asks Novell to Reconsider

Posted Nov 14, 2006 2:51 UTC (Tue) by MarionR3 (guest, #7317)
In reply to: Samba Team Asks Novell to Reconsider by marduk
Parent article: Samba Team Asks Novell to Reconsider

Let's understand something here, this is not about patents at all, nor
any 'right' or 'freedom' to use them. This is about commercial control
of the SuSE/Novell distribution of Linux, which essentially means the
software under the distributions umbrella of software. Remember Linux is
not a complete operating system, so when you consider what SuSE is as a
distribution recall that you have thousands of pieces of software
combined and distributed by a company who commercially benefits from the
use of the distribution, not necessarily the sell of the system itself.

Customers pay a support fee for SuSE Enterprise server, which has several
packages giving its' commercial customers a high level of functionality,
and options in services their business' can offer to promote them, or
improve their productivity. (we all agree on this part right? Ok.)

Novell has the same rights everybody else has whether they are selling
it or supporting it. If someone copied their business model they can
benefit and profit as well. This also means that Novell does not have
the right to restrict that competitor from conducting business, and
profiting from the use, sale or support of their specific distribution.
Novell couldn't stop client interaction with the competitor insofar as
contractual agreements for support may allow. This is a wholly different
matter. Now if Novell wants to be the equivalent of the
kid-who-took-his-ball-and-went-home. They could prevent further
distribution of their specifc software contribution to any distro if they
decided they wanted to remove the software, but then they cannot
distribute it to anyone, so either your in or your out.

Where the problem comes in is that Novell presumes that as a large
commercial distributor of linux that they now have assumed the right to
protect the software at-large - This is not their responsibility, as it
states in the GPL it is the responsibility of the copyright holder to
protect their software if this license is not adhered to. Yet by
assuming this role they are declaring that they can restrict commercial
use, but leave personal use as well as development free.

No, sorry, you can't do that.

So by allowing this to happen the software copyright holders, and
contributors have a right, and a responsibility to uphold the license of
this software en-masse, and prevent Novell from becoming the patent agent
in charge from the big bad wolf of Microsoft. No, not their job - use,
sell, support, develop, contribute, improve, release improvements - yes.

Restrict IBM, and not bobby who lives up the street and just got his
first distro, wants to give it a try, naw - that's not the plan.

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