On 11/18/2006 04:06 PM, Peter Flodin wrote:

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So I would say, yes Novell can enter in to agreements in regard to openSUSE.org

Got it. I guess. So this is not true then: On 11/18/2006 10:02 AM, susedevel@torchlighttech.com wrote:

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OpenSuSE has no such third party software nor does it have corporate support. If you have problems you have to check out the forums. It'd be REALLY hard for Microsoft to force their patents on OpenSuse mainly because it's open source.

The preamble to "Microsoft’s Patent Pledge for Individual Contributors to openSUSE.org" states:

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From time to time, individual developers wish to contribute their authored code to openSUSE.org projects. It is Microsoft’s intent that this pledge be legally binding and enforceable as to such individual contributors according to

I agree that "openSUSE.org" doesn't sound like a legal entity. Is Microsoft talking about people who send electronically transmit code to the IP address that hosts openSUSE.org? What about people who instead submit code to the slightly different Novell IP address that hosts forge.novell.com. Geez, you'd think with all those lawyers they'd be a little more thorough.

Finally the only legal agreement I can find between Novell and independent contributors to OpenSUSE and NovellForge is as follows:

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User Submissions

Any material, information or other communication You transmit or post to this

web site (including, but not limited to, ideas, suggestions, feedback, bug identification, content, code, copyrighted materials or materials protected by other intellectual property laws) will be considered non-confidential and non-proprietary communications. Novell will have no obligations with respect to

Let's break this down, or attempt to. With many open source projects, there are developers whom want to contribute to the open source with their code, like many people in this community. Essential, what I am gathering, is that Microsoft won't force their patents on anyone whom wants to contribute to OpenSuSE. Microsoft naturally has patents, and people are concerned that they are going to bring their patents into open source. They will not force their patents onto anyone whom is contributing their developments onto OpenSuSE. We know that with the GPL, microsoft can't assert patents on OpenSuSE the OS, the Patent Pledge is to let us know that they won't attack the individuals whom make OpenSuSE.org possible. It's more to protect MS than us it seems. Since Microsoft is going to be contributing, they will have "patents" on the software they contribute but they are letting us know that they won't impose the same patents on anyone else developing. In the end, we can all do what we've been doing. Microsoft isn't going to make us follow their patents when we do our development. Nothing has changed too much for us. onto that other thing with Novell owning what we say, taht's not it at all. What it is, what is said here, no one owns. So if Novell, or anyone else, decides to take what is said in say a forum and put it in their marketing material, they can. If I decide to write a magazine article containing information from this mailing list, I can. It's like, Open Source for words. I am not into fighting either. Part of me is content with the pact, part of me is not. I am not a fan of MS at all, I've used solely Linux for 2 years now and I am glad I haven't looked back. One thing I wish we had though was the ability to use certain Microsoft software like iTunes or TaxCut on Linux. That's why I am happy about this because of the inter operability issue. I am upset because it's Microsoft. I don't want an OS with a bunch of Microsoft's applications on it. A few, maybe, but not a lot. To a degree, Novell needed to do this in order to help make SuSE more appealing to businesses. That's what SLED and SLES are for, business. OpenSuSE is meant to be like a consumer Linux. Just for the average person. We'll see what happens. Microsoft is also trying to make their own sort of community. On Sat Nov 18 18:22 , Saill White sent: the terms below. the communications. Novell and its designees will be free to copy, disclose, distribute, incorporate and otherwise use the communications and all data, images, sounds, text and other things embodied therein for any and all commercial or non-commercial purposes.

So anything that anyone sends to OpenSUSE or NovellForge immediately becomes the

property of Novell. Novell itself has no special legal relationship with it's contributors. Therefore, I don't understand how Microsoft can purport to have such a relationship through an agreement reached with Novell. Seems like Novell's giving away something that doesn't belong to them.

By the way, I'm not interested in fighting, quite the opposite. The way I see

it, Novell has left Suse in a dark dead-end alley with a mean bully. I'm looking for unlocked doors to escape through.

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Pflodo Peter Flodin

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