Groklaw: The Novell-MS Deal: What Happens *After* the 5 Years?

“A friend asked me a question yesterday that I couldn’t answer,
so I did some research to see if I could find one. The question
was: In the Novell-Microsoft deal, what happens at the end of the
5-year term? If you as an individual programmer write code,
contribute it, and it’s covered by the patent agreement during the
five years, what happens to it afterward? Is that contributed code
still covered? Are you?

“If you are a programmer, that is a question you’ll want to ask
your lawyer, but for the rest of us who may be just wondering, I
thought I’d share with you what I’ve noticed. I have at least found
the right places to look…”

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