Thread: MS-Novell deal

What do you think about the MS-Novell deal?

The deal between Microsoft and Novell was an attempt to take away our freedom. It is an attempt to convert free software into proprietary software. The way they did it is by using Microsoft's patent claims. A patent is a government issued monopoly on an idea. Some countries allow patents in the software fields.

When that happens, it means that a software technique or feature can be patented. If a country allows software patents then all the developers are in danger, because when you develop a program, you implement many ideas. If some of these ideas are patented that means the patent holder can sue you. If you distribute the copies to some users, then the patent holde; can sue those users too in some countries.

The mega corporations own half of the patents; that's true in every field and they cross-licence each other in a way that gives them a form of dominion. This is why the software mega corporations want software patents. Three years ago, the mega corporations in the US asked the government of India to implement software patents and the government went along with it, but the opposition parties blocked it.