[Gloucs] Novell anouncement

[Charlie Markwick]

Thought might be of interest it came in today.

Charlie

            Attention Developer Net Members

            We are proud to announce that Novell today completed its
acquisition of SUSE LINUX, a combination that brings global technical
support, consulting and training services and industry-leading networking
and security to Linux, and provides a compelling alternative for companies
wishing to leverage the many benefits of open source. Novell now offers a
full range of enterprise solutions on the Linux platform, from the server to
the desktop. The closing of the $210 million cash deal also opens the door
for completion of the $50 million investment of IBM in Novell announced
November 4.

            Novell today also announced it will offer its SUSE LINUX
Enterprise Server 8 customers a new indemnification program designed to
provide an additional measure of protection against certain intellectual
property challenges to Linux.

            With today's closing of Novell's acquisition of SUSE LINUX and
the addition of the SUSE LINUX distribution to Novell's product offerings,
Novell is now unique among Linux vendors in offering a full stack Linux
solution, providing global technical support for Linux, and, through its new
Novell Linux Indemnification Program, giving enterprise customers additional
reassurance about deploying Linux in their organizations.

            Linux and open source solutions have grown rapidly in recent
years, moving from peripheral uses into more business critical functions. As
enterprises consider making strategic investments in Linux, they face the
question of indemnification, a standard component of most traditional
proprietary software offerings but generally unavailable for Linux. Novell's
Linux Indemnification Program will afford qualifying Novell Linux customers
a measure of protection against potential copyright infringement claims.

            Novell's Linux Indemnification Program
            Novell's indemnification program is designed for enterprise
customers of Linux. Under the program:

              a.. Indemnification is offered for copyright infringement
claims made by third parties against registered Novell customers who obtain
SUSE LINUX Enterprise Server 8 and who after January 13, 2004 obtain upgrade
protection and a qualifying technical support contract from Novell or a
participating Novell or SUSE LINUX channel partner.
              b.. Customers must accept the program terms and conditions
including caps and other limitations.
            Additional details on the program are available at
http://www.novell.com/licensing/indemnity.

            Novell's Unique Legal Rights
            Novell also made available today additional information on the
unique contractual and intellectual property rights it holds because of its
position in the historical ownership chain of UNIX and UnixWare. These
rights include:

              a.. Novell's rights to license UNIX technology pursuant to a
Technology License Agreement between SCO and Novell, including Novell's
right to authorize its customers to use that UNIX technology in their
internal business operations.
              b.. Novell's rights to take action on behalf of SCO under
legacy UNIX SVRX licenses pursuant to the Asset Purchase Agreement between
SCO and Novell.
              c.. As previously confirmed by Novell, copyright registrations
on UNIX SVRX releases, consistent with Novell's position that it retained
ownership of these copyrights.
            Copies of relevant correspondence between Novell and SCO are
available at http://www.novell.com/licensing/indemnity/legal.html. The
rights reflected in these documents are part of the foundation for the
indemnification program Novell is announcing today.

            Special Program for Current Linux Users
            For those enterprise users of Linux who are not currently Novell
SUSE LINUX customers, Novell will soon announce a special program whereby
they can become Novell SUSE LINUX customers and participate in the
indemnification program.

            We believe our new Linux indemnification program, supported by
our unique legal rights, will provide enterprise customers with one more
reason to include Linux in their information technology plans.



            Sincerely,

            Jack Messman
            Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Novell, Inc.



-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/gif
Size: 46 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://mailman.lug.org.uk/pipermail/gloucs/attachments/20040113/3685a899/attachment.gif