Linux Agreements Signed

Agreements with Linux distributors Linspire and Xandros in June 2007, along with several recent patent cross-licensing deals with companies that use Linux in their products, might reduce liability for customers who purchase products from these companies. However, it seems unlikely that Microsoft would ever take legal action against Linux customers or distributors, despite Microsoft’s recent statements about Linux violating its patents, because doing so carries huge risks for the company. The deals are more likely part of a campaign to draw attention to the uncertain intellectual property pedigree of open source software, although customers may benefit from improved interoperability.

Raising Doubts About Linux

Intellectual property (IP) is generally defined to include patents, trade secrets, trademarks, and copyrights. The IP status of open source software first became a business issue in Mar. 2003, when SCO sued several Linux distributors, including IBM and Novell, and at least one Linux customer, alleging that Linux infringed upon SCO’s IP. (A judge threw out many of SCO’s claims in June 2006, but the case is still winding its way through the courts.)