From: Ad 

http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=39737

Chuckle....

"Eben Moglen says that Microsoft's attempts to win patent suits
against those using the open source OS will come unstuck thanks to the
Vole's deal with Novell.

Microsoft says that Linux infringes more than 240 patents, and intends to
start enforcing them, convincing users to cough up money. Earlier this
year, Novell paid a wad of cash for 'vouchers' which would indemnify users
of its SUSE Linux from action.

Here's the problem. These vouchers have no expiration date on them, meaning
they can be used to indemnify a holder tomorrow or next year. But the GPL
v3, scheduled to come into action later this year, includes a clause that
extends a granted indemnity to one person to everyone else, too.

The GPL v3 says this: "If, pursuant to or in connection with a single
transaction or arrangement, you convey, or propagate by procuring
conveyance of, a covered work, and grant a patent license providing freedom
to use, propagate, modify or convey a specific copy of the covered work to
any of the parties receiving the covered work, then the patent license you
grant is automatically extended to all recipients of the covered work and
works based on it."

SUSE will transition to GPL v3 before the year is out, someone will redeem
a voucher, then Microsoft will be held to have legally licensed its patents
to everyone using any flavour of Linux under the GPL. "


Adam

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