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Welcome to virtuallinux.org. You are currently reading the article "Novell Could Be Banned From Selling Linux: Group Claims". All articles on virtuallinux.org pertain to the ongoing assult on the worlds greatest Operating system. Continue on reading about "Novell Could Be Banned From Selling Linux: Group Claims"
Novell Could Be Banned From Selling Linux: Group Claims
Posted on Tuesday, February 06 2007 @ 09:08:59 EST by linuxwiz |
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The Free Software Foundation is
reviewing Novell's right to sell new versions of
Linux operating system software after the open-source community criticized Novell for teaming up with Microsoft.
BOSTON - The Free Software Foundation is
reviewing Novell Inc.'s right to sell new versions of
Linux operating system software after the open-source community
criticized Novell for teaming up with Microsoft Corp.
"The community of people wants to do anything they can to
interfere with this deal and all deals like it. They have every
reason to be deeply concerned that this is the beginning of a
significant patent aggression by Microsoft," Eben Moglen, the
Foundation's general counsel, said Friday.
The foundation controls intellectual property rights to key
parts of the open-source Linux operating system.
Novell angered members of the open-source community that
develops Linux and other free software programs in November
when it entered a wide-ranging business deal with Microsoft.
Critics called on the board to punish Novell by banning it
from distributing new versions of Linux software, said Moglen.
Linux is the most popular variant of open-source software.
Unlike proprietary software such as Microsoft Windows,
open-source software lets developers share code and add
functions and is generally available at no cost.
Moglen said the board has not made a decision on the matter
but that he expects it to announce a ruling within two weeks.
If the foundation decides to take action, the ban would
apply to new versions of Linux covered under a licensing
agreement due to take effect in March.
John Dragoon, senior vice president and chief marketing
officer at Novell, declined to comment saying it would be
premature to speculate on how the issue would be resolved.
"We'll take a look at the final determination and we'll
react accordingly," he said.
Software companies such as Novell sell standardized
versions of open-source programs with custom features,
maintenance plans and technical support.
Linux sales accounted for 5 percent of the $967 million in
revenue that Novell reported last year. The deal with Microsoft
has turned into a far bigger cash generator as it calls for
Microsoft to make two upfront payments totaling $348 million.
The two companies agreed to jointly sell their products and
also develop technologies to make it easier for businesses to
use Linux alongside Windows software. They will also license
each other's intellectual property.
Members of the open-source community have called on Novell
to pull out of the pact, saying it would undermine the patent
position of Linux software and also give Microsoft an edge in
persuading businesses to use Microsoft products over Linux and
other types of open-source software.
Jefferies & Co. analyst Katherine Egbert said Novell's
business was likely to suffer if it was banned from using the
new versions of Linux.
It would have to boost spending on research and development
to upgrade its software without access to the latest versions
of the open-source code provided by the Foundation.
Novell shares ended down 2 cents at $7.16 on the Nasdaq.
The stock is likely to trade down before the Foundation
discloses its ruling as investors stay on the sidelines to
avoid the worst-case scenario, analysts said.
"Investors don't like uncertainty," Egbert said. "This
isn't good to the extent that it creates uncertainty around the
technical road map."
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