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ZDNet: Blocking the Microsoft/Novell Deal

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“That, apparently, is the reason the release of GPLv3 has been
delayed. The Free Software Foundation wants to ensure that verbiage
in GPLv3 explicitly prevents arrangements wherein Microsoft signs a
patent waiver with customers of a particular company (in this case,
Novell). That, apparently, is not disallowed by the terms of GPLv2,
according to Richard Stallman.

“Assuming they figure out acceptable verbiage (which I have no
doubt the FSF will), this means that the only way GPLv3 software
could use patented IP is if the owners of that IP grant a global
waiver to all users of a particular open source product…”

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