NewsForge: Microsoft Joins OSDL, Frees Linux of Liability

"Adding what is perhaps its most significant member to date, the Open Source Development Labs (OSDL) has announced that longtime open source opponent Microsoft is joining its ranks, giving Eric Raymond a seat on the Microsoft Board of Directors and agreeing to a sweeping intellectual property agreement this week.

"OSDL said that after several hours of intense negotiations, officials of the 'center of gravity for Linux and open source' had brokered the deal with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, who downplayed the membership of a proprietary software maker in an open source organization..."

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• CNET News: Open-Source Honchos Trash Software Patents(Feb 02, 2005)
• internetnews.com: Linux Creator: A Little Fragmentation is Good(Feb 02, 2005)
• OSDL Launches New Tech Center, Sans Kernel Rewrite, IBM(Jan 26, 2005)