Ballmer comes right out and says it

Linux users need to pay Microsoft if they don't want to get sued.

That was the word last Thursday from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, who claims Linux distributions infringe Microsoft's intellectual property. Microsoft needs to "get the appropriate economic return for our shareholders from our innovation," said Ballmer in a Q&A session at a conference held in Seattle. Exactly how Linux infringes, Ballmer refused to specify, which has prompted vendors such as Red Hat to call the Microsoft threat an "innovation tax".

"Novell pays us some money for the right to tell customers that anybody who uses SUSE Linux is appropriately covered," Ballmer said. This "is important to us, because otherwise we believe every Linux customer basically has an undisclosed balance-sheet liability."

Pamela Jones of Groklaw has done some digging and found Novell's former attitudes to software patents. They're not at the former URL - you need to use the Wayback Machine to find out what http://www.novell.com/linux/truth/ used to say. Among other gems is the following:

"As with all purchasing considerations, customers should keep software patents in perspective. In reality, open source software poses no greater risk of patent infringement than does closed source software. And, while some software vendors may attempt to counter the competitive threat to Linux by making arguments about patent risks, they would assert patents against customers at their own peril. They would also do so against competitors (such as Novell) at the certainty of provoking a response. We urge customers to remind vendors that all are best served by using innovation and competition to drive purchasing decisions."

Quite. In the same piece Jones points out that the Free Software Foundation's legal counsel Eben Moglen has made clear that the new version of the General Public License will explicitly outlaw patent deals of the kind Novell and Microsoft have just signed.

Red Hat will be moving from the Nasdaq to the NYSE on 12 December this year.

Upon approval of its application, the company anticipates that its shares of common stock will begin trading on the NYSE on 12 December 2006, under the symbol "RHT".

Until that time, Red Hat will continue to trade on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol "RHAT".

Thanks to Groklaw, LWN, CNN Money, Computer World Australia and Red Hat.