---
title: red hat/novell patent Q&A
date: '2007-10-13'
tags:
- gnome
- law
- licensing
draft: false
legacy_url: https://lu.is/2007/10/red-hatnovell-patent-qa/
legacy_source: wordpress
---

Because people asked...

**Q: will you be doing a Q&A on the Red Hat and Novell patents suits?**

A: Are you crazy? :) I've worked for both companies and managed a team that may well have written or implemented the code at issue. I'm not touching that in public with a ten foot pole. :)

**Q: but! but!**

A: Go read [Mark Radcliffe's summary](http://lawandlifesiliconvalley.blogspot.com/2007/10/patent-troll-fire-first-volley-at-open.html). Better starting place than I'm going to give you. :)

**Q: any notes you might want to add?**

A: [the complaint](http://www.groklaw.net/pdf/IPvRH-1.pdf) clearly involves not one but three patents; make sure you take your news with a grain of salt and remove your tinfoil hats before reading. :)

**Q: seriously? that's it?**

A: I'm sure I'll end up chatting with SFLC about the whole thing and may at some point have some comments for GNOME, or at least the board. Unfortunately, given the circumstances, I wouldn't look to me for much more than that, at least until SFLC as my lawyers tell me I should ;)