Star Microsoft Strikes GPLv3 Software from Linspire Patent Deal
Linked by Thom Holwerda on Wed 18th Jul 2007 22:09 UTC, submitted by Kishe
Microsoft Microsoft says software that's licensed under a new version of a popular open source license isn't covered by the patent protection deal it recently signed with desktop Linux distributor Linspire. In a posting on its Web site, Microsoft said the Linspire client software protected by the patent deal doesn't include any parts of the distribution that "comprise or include Foundry Products, Clone Products, GPLv3 Software, or Other Excluded Products." The document was published on July 5, three weeks after Microsoft struck a deal with Linspire through which Linspire's customers are indemnified against Microsoft's patent claims against Linux users.
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lemur2
Member since:
2007-02-17

But remember kernel will stay with GPL v2 and what if Novell will provide a forked SuSe version based on GPL v2 with no GPL v3 software in but using new kernels? That could be perfectly legal.


Perhaps ... but it isn't going to happen.

Novell have another perfectly legal plan instead:
http://www.novell.com/prblogs/?p=365
"Given the terms of GPLv3, we re-affirm Novell’s ability to include technologies licensed under GPLv2 or GPLv3 in SUSE Linux Enterprise, openSUSE, and other Novell offerings and to deliver these technologies to our customers. This is good news for our customers, who enjoy using the best engineered and most interoperable Linux platform for mission-critical computing. Novell welcomes and supports GPLv3, and intends to include code licensed under GPLv3 in its distribution."


So there you go.

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