What is it with Novell and ambigous contracts?
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| peragrin Nov 21, 2006 4:53 AM EDT |
Novell wrote the APA with Santa Cruz. a fairly ambigous contract to make it seem that the buyer was getting more than the seller was actually handing them. Now the MSFT deal is apparently structured in a similar method. Why all the legal mumbo jumbo? Why not just state plainly that it's such and such agreement? MSFT has stated contradictory statements regarding the deal now. Of course it then raises more questions than it answers. MSFT needs to thorw FUD, but if Novell said there were no infringments then how can MSFT say their are? Because of the BS in the document MSFT just bought a new load of manure from Novell. Now some of that manure is being thrown at Novell, and Novell is trying to defend MSFT's actions. boy is this getting Ugly. Who has the popcorn? |
| dinotrac Nov 21, 2006 5:16 AM EDT |
>Why all the legal mumbo jumbo? That's probably the lawyers more than Novell. Some lawyers would rather sit naked in dry ice than write a plain sentence. And, let us not forget that Microsoft's lawyers have something to say about it, too. Another factor is legal terms of art. I've forgotten nearly all of them now ---sigh--- but they are, essentially, a lawyer-to-lawyer shorthand for dealing with complicated constructs. Lawyers know what they mean, judges know what they mean, they are good drafting from the standpoint of making sure the contract is correct, but...the rest of us might just go "Huh?" And, finally, complex contracts are, well, complex. |
| Alcibiades Nov 21, 2006 5:56 AM EDT |
It still does puzzle one enormously, why, if there really are infringements, did MS have to pay Novel several hundred million for the privilege of refraining from suing Novell's customers? And why is this a way for MS to get appropriate returns for shareholders on MS IPRs? Or is this really not at all what happened? |
| dinotrac Nov 21, 2006 6:04 AM EDT |
>Why, if there really are infringements, did MS have to pay Novel several hundred million for the privilege of refraining from suing Novell's customers You forget that Novell is about a lot more than Suse. Novell has its own patent portfolio and was already in court Suing Microsoft. I have heard that this agreement didn't settle that suit, but I'd bet that all of the money has made something go away that Microsoft wanted gone. |
| Abe Nov 21, 2006 10:24 AM EDT |
Lawyers call it making a good living |
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