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Is the Microsoft/Novell Deal a Litigation Bomb?

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the pengui-bomb dept.

mpapet writes "According to WINE developer Tom Wickline, the Microsoft/Novell deal for Suse support may one day control commercial customers' use of Free Software. Is this the end of commercial OSS developers who are not a part of the Microsoft/Suse pact?" From the article: "Wickline said that the pact means that there will now be a Microsoft-blessed path for such people to make use of Open Source ... 'A logical next move for Microsoft could be to crack down on 'unlicensed Linux' and 'unlicensed Free Software,' now that it can tell the courts that there is a Microsoft-licensed path. Or they can just passively let that threat stay there as a deterrent to anyone who would use Open Source without going through the Microsoft-approved Novell path,' Wickline said." Bruce Perens dropped a line to point out that most of the content actually comes from his post.

1 of 342 comments (clear)

  1. Microsoft Execs Shaking Their Heads In Disgust by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    Microsoft just got one of the major Linux vendors to roll over and be Microsoft's personal patent bitch and endorse the idea publicly that Linux is infringing on Microsoft IP and therefore inherently unsafe for business use...

    And Linux fans all over the globe are falling over each other to for some ridiculous notion of 'reasonableness' by trying to look at the 'good side' of this disaster for Linux.

    Way to go guys, you get a pat on the back and an atta boy! as your OS was just torpedoed by one of your very own captains...