Novell Reassures Linux Users On Microsoft Patents

"Importantly, our agreement with Microsoft is in no way an acknowledgment that Linux infringes upon any Microsoft intellectual property," Hovsepian said. "When we entered the patent cooperation agreement with Microsoft, Novell did not agree or admit that Linux or any other Novell offering violates Microsoft patents."

Indeed, the Microsoft-Novell deal indicated Microsoft had more to gain than Novell. Microsoft made an upfront payment of $108 million for patent protections, while Novell agreed to pay at least $40 million over five years.

Microsoft said in its statement, "Microsoft and Novell have agreed to disagree on whether certain open-source offerings infringe Microsoft patents and whether certain Microsoft offerings infringe Novell patents."

"The agreement between our two companies puts in place a workable solution for customers for these issues, without requiring an agreement between our two companies on infringement," the software maker said.

Microsoft went on to say that Novell didn't admit or acknowledge any patent problems in entering the agreement, but that Microsoft determined on its own that patent protection should be extended to customers of the products covered in the agreement.

"At Microsoft, we undertook our own analysis of our patent portfolio and concluded that it was necessary and important to create a patent covenant for customers of these products," the company said.

Hovsepian said a key motivation for the Microsoft deal was to satisfy customers calling for interoperability between Linux and Windows, an argument made during the initial announcement on Nov. 2.

"Our interest in signing this agreement was to secure interoperability and joint sales agreements, but Microsoft asked that we cooperate on patents as well, and so a patent cooperation agreement was included as a part of the deal," Hovsepian said.

In closing, the chief executive said Novell remained committed to "protecting, preserving, and promoting freedom for free and open-source software," and welcomed the development community's input in how to meet those goals.

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