Wednesday, 30 May 2007

Novell Worries that GPL 3 Could Foil Microsoft Pact

Novell is worried that Microsoft will put a stop to selling Suse Linux platforms if the third version of the General Public License remains in its current form. "If the final version of GPLv3 contains terms or conditions that interfere with our agreement with Microsoft or our ability...

Novell is worried that Microsoft will put a stop to selling Suse Linux platforms if the third version of the General Public License remains in its current form.

"If the final version of GPLv3 contains terms or conditions that interfere with our agreement with Microsoft or our ability to distribute GPLv3 code, Microsoft may cease to distribute Suse Linux coupons in order to avoid the extension of its patent covenants to a broader range of GPLv3 software recipients," Novell stated in the document.

However, the Free Software Foundation (FSF) was not too happy with the Microsoft-Novell deal. They plan to unveil a new software licensing agreement aimed to wreck the deal.

"We never planned to let so much time pass between public releases of the license, but we felt it was important to fully discuss a few specific issues, including the recent patent deal between Novell and Microsoft, before proceeding with the process," Licensing Compliance Engineer Brett Smith, of the Free Software Foundation, said.

Ron Hovsepian, Novell's CEO claimed no regrets about the Microsoft-Novell deal. .

"We need to make sure such deals don't make a mockery of the goals of free software," Peter Brown, executive director of the Free Software Foundation, said.

The Free Software Foundation will aim to weaken the Microsoft-Novell patent deal by adding a language that will complete that goal into the new license contract that will wrap rights to much of the code in Linux, Brown said.

"They found a way to effectively proprietise free software by offering patent promises to Novell," Brown said. "Whenever a new method comes along to effectively turn free software into proprietary software, we will adjust the license."

Novell spokesman Bruce Lowry declined to comment on the foundation's plan, saying he hadn't seen its draft. Microsoft also declined to comment before seeing the draft.

Companies like Novell and Red Hat generate revenue by selling Linux bundled with service contracts that include technical support along with regular maintenance and upgrades to their software.