Novell Incurs Wrath of Open Source Community

February 7th, 2007: In the wake of its landmark agreement with Microsoft, Novell has drawn the ire of many in the open source community. So much so, that Novell’s right to sell new versions of the Linux operating system has been cast into doubt.

According to Reuters, The Free Software Foundation (which manages Linux licensing) is currently reviewing Novell’s rights to sell Linux after entering into a deal with Microsoft that will see the software giant make two upfront payments totalling USD$348 million.

The deal will see the two companies develop technology to use their respective products together as well as selling their operating systems side by side. Many within the open source community have spoken out against the deal, saying that it will undermine Linux and give Microsoft a competitive edge.

As the world’s second largest Linux distributor and active member of the OS’s ongoing development, both the open source community and Novell stand to suffer if the company ends up being cast out. However, the fact that it is willing to cut off its nose to spite its face shows just how strongly the community feels about the direction Novell is taking.

"The community of people wants to do anything they can to interfere with this deal and all deals like it. They have every reason to be deeply concerned that this is the beginning of a significant patent aggression by Microsoft," Eben Moglen, the Foundation's general counsel told Reuters on Friday.

A decision is expected within two weeks and if excommunicated, Novell will be cut off from further Linux developments from March this year.

Comment on this story