Microsoft’s Ballmer rekindles Linux patent fears

[Alex Gakuru]

Sparks fly less than a month after Microsoft and Novell signed partnership                       By John Fontana, Network World, 11/21/06                      
                                                                                           For the second time in two years, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer last week played the patent infringement card against Linux and again set off a round of negative speculation                         and vendor clarifications.....
As part of the deal between Microsoft and Novell, the pair is making payments to each other not to assert patent claims. Novell is paying $40 million to Microsoft in exchange for the latter company's pledge not to sue SUSE Linux users over possible patent violations, and Microsoft is paying Novell $108 million for a similar agreement that says Novell won’t sue Microsoft users....
Experts have speculated the Microsoft-Novell deal was, in part, a swipe at Linux leader Red Hat and that Ballmer’s recent                         comments over intellectual property were in that vein.                      
                      “I guess that could be the rationale, but is Red Hat that much of threat to stoop to this level?” said Ovum Summit’s Davis.
http://www.linuxworld.com/news/2006/112106-ballmer-linux.html?page=1
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