The newest version of the GNU (or General) Public License, GPLv3 has been generating controversy for months. At issue have been a number of issues of license compatibility (that is, what if my software is under GPLv2 and yours is GPLv3?). The inital drafts concerned many in the user community, particularly since there were circumstances in which all software would have to be the same version of GPL in order to (legally) be deployed together. Those issues--says the Free Software Foundation--have been fixed.
The bigger issue for Microsoft and Novell is a provision in GPLv3 that states (basically) that if you distribute software under GPLv3, you can't press patent claims against anyone who uses the software--no matter how they got it. Read the exact language in the eWeek article.
The key question here: Does this kill the Microsoft-Novell deal? Most think it does...
