""There is a patent covenant for anyone that downloads
[Moonlight] from Novell," he answered and was then forced to admit
that "as to extending the patents to third parties - you have to
talk to Microsoft."
"That's exactly what Microsoft was saying to TomTom before it
sued the GPS maker on Wednesday - talk to us and sign a licensing
deal. Is that what FOSS users want to do - pay royalties for using
software?
"It is important to note that a week or so back, Microsoft was
inking a virtualisation deal with Red Hat; in recent times, the
company has made much of what it terms its willingness to deal with
open source, to the extent of sending its people to free software
events.
"But the reality is different - lawsuits and the proprietary
software business model are part of Microsoft's DNA and it cannot
change."
