Are Microsoft And Novell Looking To Get An Annulment?
The Microsoft-Linux lovefest sure didn’t last long. A few weeks ago, Microsoft and Novell announced a surprising alliance, whereby they would work together to ensure interoperability between Windows and Linux, team up on sales, and promise not to sue each other over patent issues. While most of the attention was focused on the partnership aspect of the deal, many suspected that the patents were at the heart of it. That view was supported by statements made a few days later by Steve Ballmer, who said publicly that other Linux distributors were infringing on Microsoft’s intellectual property, and that they needed to sign similar deals. This of course put Novell in the awkward situation of being in bed with a company that was publicly threatening the open source movement. Other Linux distributors, like Red Hat, denounced the deal, while some in the open source community have explored possible challenges to it, on the grounds that it violates the GNU General Public License. So, perhaps to
