Why is the patent agreement important?
The patent agreement demonstrates that Microsoft is willing to enter into agreements that extend its patent protection to open source customers. This is an important foundation in building the bridge between proprietary and open source software. One of the biggest perceived differences between open and closed source software revolves around intellectual property. Because open source software is developed in a cooperative environment, some have expressed concerns that intellectual property protections could be compromised more easily in open source. Today’s agreement between Novell and Microsoft provides confidence on intellectual property for Novell and Microsoft customers. By mutually agreeing not to assert their patent rights against one another’s customers, the two companies give customers greater peace of mind regarding the patents in the solutions they’re deploying. Novell and Microsoft believe that this arrangement makes it possible to offer customers the highest level of interop
