2006/11/7, Adrian Schröter <adrian@suse.de>:
Two weeks of vacation and now such big inbox ;)
Am Saturday 04 November 2006 14:01 schrieb Pascal Bleser:
...
> The fact that Novell might violate the GPL if there is an IP litigation
> case against other Linux businesses (
e.g. Redhat) and if MS wins that
> litigation case in court, it would mean that e.g. Redhat would be
> condemned, but not Novell.
> This is a pretty hypothetical theory, as there hasn't been any
> successful IP litigation claim against the Linux kernel or other
> opensource projects until now (that's what SCO tried to do).
Just to clarify this (as a non-lawyer without official opinion ;):
1. It is right that it is not allowed to limit the rights of GPL
software via patents (or in any other ways).
2. It is right that this can't get workarounded by such an agreement.
But consequence is that no one (neither Novell or MS or someone else) is
allowed to put software under GPL, if the software is protected by other
rules (like a patent). It can not be shipped by anyone in a legal way under
this license, even not by the original author.
Let me see if i understand your logic.
Tomorrow, Microsoft sue Pepino Linux because according to MS, they use software with MS patents, like Samba or any other crazy patent they have. According to you, Pepino software can't distribute GPL software any more ?
If Pepino Linux decide to make an agreement with Microsoft and go to clean MS bathrooms every saturday in exchange MS agree to retired the sue, that's mean Pepino Linux can't distribute GPL software any more, because the agreement is only for Pepino Linux ?
Know according to you, if Pepino Linux before the sue make an agreement with Microsoft, that says they are not going to get sue it by Microsoft because patents, that's mean they can't distribute GPL software anymore ?
Is this mean SUN can't distribute GPL software any more ??
And if the GPL software that Pepino Linux and SUN distribute are protected _by MS patents_ and that's mean they can't distribute that's software with the GPL license, that's mean Onion Linux can do it ?
Sorry for my bad english, is maybe that, but all this sound like a lot bull shit FUD