The cat's finally out of the bag,. Microsoft is claiming Linux has infringed 200 MS patents. What's more, we have now learned that Novell has stated in a company filing for the US Securities & Exchange Commission:
If the final version of GPLv3 contains terms or conditions that interfere with our agreement with Microsoft or our ability to distribute GPLv3 code, Microsoft may cease to distribute SUSE Linux coupons in order to avoid the extension of its patent covenants to a broader range of GPLv3 software recipients, we may need to modify our relationship with Microsoft under less advantageous terms than our current agreement, or we may be restricted in our ability to include GPLv3 code in our products, any of which could adversely affect our business and our operating results. In such a case, we would likely explore alternatives to remedy the conflict, but there is no assurance that we would be successful in these efforts.
So MS and Novell are happy to form an alliance to distribute Linux, but are not prepared to abide by GPL 3.0 which governs the licensing rules of open source software.
