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<p>Directly speaking, <a
href="http://www.zdnet.com/blog/open-source/novells-patents-bought-by-microsoft-apple-emc-oracle/7975">Microsoft,
with the help of its partners, Apple, EMC, and Oracle, in the
CPTN Group</a> has not, though, actually bought Novell’s patents
as most people would understand the word “bought.” Instead, <a
href="http://www.zdnet.com/blog/microsoft/microsoft-backed-cptn-alters-novell-patent-acquisition-terms-to-appease-antitrust-authorities/9250">CPTN
was forced, by the U.S. Department of Justice and the German
Federal Cartel Office to re-sell the patents back to Attachmate</a>.
In return, the CPTN gets licensing rights to use the patents.</p>
<p>For Microsoft and friends, the most vexing part of the deal is
that All of the <a
href="http://www.zdnet.com/blog/open-source/microsoft-gets-novells-patents-rights-but-must-share-them-with-open-source-software/8713">Novell
patents will be subject to the GNU General Public License,
Version 2 (GPLv2) and the Open Invention Network
(OIN)patent-pool agreements</a>. In other words, Microsoft can’t
use these patents against Linux or other open-source programs.</p>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.zdnet.com/blog/open-source/novell-deals-done/8755">http://www.zdnet.com/blog/open-source/novell-deals-done/8755</a><br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
"Gun control is like trying to reduce drunk driving by making it
tougher for sober people to own cars." - Unknown
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