SEC filings reveal Microsoft and Novell payments for Linux deal

 

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By Matt Whipp

Posted on 8 Nov 2006 at 17:31

'Novell entered this broad set of agreements with Microsoft to further promote the adoption of Linux,' said Joseph A. LaSala, Jr., senior vice president and general counsel for Novell. 'Many people want to know whether this agreement is compatible with Novell's obligations under the GPL, especially section 7. This was an important consideration for us as well. Under the patent cooperation agreement, Novell's customers receive directly from Microsoft a covenant not to sue. Novell does not receive a patent license or covenant not to sue from Microsoft, and we have not agreed with Microsoft to any condition that would contradict the conditions of the GPL. Our agreement does not affect the freedom that Novell or anyone else in the open source community, including developers, has under the GPL and does not impose any condition that would contradict the conditions of the GPL. Therefore, the agreement is fully compliant with the GPL.'

The latest developments are a big contrast to a year ago, when Microsoft was keen to challenge the reliability of Linux systems, compared with the Windows Server platform. A study was carried out that compared two teams of IT administrators as they maintained Windows Server 2000 and Novell SUSE Enterprise Linux 8, and then upgraded to Windows Server 2003 and Novell SUSE Enterprise Linux 9, respectively.

Novell, however, was quick to hit back at the claims at unreliability. The Novell PR manager Kevin Barney said that the study was intended 'confuse the market about the value of Linux and downplay the various reliability, security and TCO issues Windows users are facing'.