Novell and EFF announce 'patent busting' agreement

greggh · Post by **greggh** » Thu May 24, 2007 12:29 pm

http://news.linux.com/news/07/05/24/152214.shtml?tid=96

A somewhat ambitious undertaking, no? Particularly in light of the (to put it mildly) controversial patent protection pact between Microsoft and Novell last fall, which Novell said would "enhance interoperability between Linux and Windows and give customers greater flexibility in their IT environments." The arrangement was widely criticized in the Linux community, and has inspired new language in the GPLv3 to counter exclusive patent covenants.

The agreement between EFF and Novell involves a worldwide lobbying effort to encourage governments and relevant intellectual property organizations to promulgate innovation-friendly patent legislation, and policies.

Hey Novell, I ain't buying what you're selling.

Judland · Post by **Judland** » Thu May 24, 2007 1:20 pm

It's called "damage control"... a ploy Microsoft is teaching Novell in exchange for the FUD ammo. Novell provided for them last year.

greggh · Post by **greggh** » Thu May 24, 2007 7:09 pm

Quick piece by zdnet blogger...

Can Novell get its good name back?

http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/?p=1077

Novell faced such a choice six months ago. Microsoft offered it a fat check for its corporate soul.

Novell took the check.

Now it wants a do-over. Novell promises to (finally) share the full agreement. It couldn’t before because, you see, it was being investigated for back-dating stock options, which should tell you all you really need to know.

snarkout · Post by **snarkout** » Fri May 25, 2007 10:23 am

I think if Jesus came down from the skies and blessed Novell as the One True Linux at this point they'd still be fscked. Too bad, but really entirely their fault - they just cannot seem to learn from their mistakes.