Is Red Hat the next big Linux distributor to jump eagerly on Microsoft's Windows - Linux interoperability and patent protection wagon? Red Hat's Chief Executive Officer Matthew Szulik refused to say if Microsoft has proposed the Windows - Linux deal again. Again because Red Hat indeed participated in negotiations with the Redmond company in 2006 over a patent agreement designed to shield each other's customers from potential patent infringement lawsuits. Szulik declined to confirm or deny the fact that the talks with Microsoft are still continuing, and in this context, it seems that Red Hat could be considering an "I do" to a potential Microsoft marriage.

Red Hat would not be the first Linux distributor to join forces with Microsoft. Novell has inked an interoperability and intellectual property assurance agreement with the Redmond company as early as November 2006. Then Novell was followed by Xandros and Linspire. Microsoft has not let its guard down and through the voices of General Counsel Brad Smith and Vice President of Intellectual Property and Licensing Horacio Gutierrez claimed that free and open source software infringes on no less than 235 of its patents.

Red Hat and Ubuntu are among the most prominent Linux distributors that have resisted Microsoft's offer under the threat of patent infringement lawsuit. This of course could change with Red Hat indicating the fact that the Linux community is divided. And this on the brink of version 3 of the General Public License designed to render useless intellectual property assurance deals. Still, the general opinion of the Linux community members, analysts and even Microsoft is that lawsuits will never take form.

"We believe Microsoft is strengthening its patent portfolio to rectify what it perceives to be exploitation of its intellectual property (IP) by technology providers that generate substantial revenue from OSS, including Linux. We do not believe Microsoft intends to pursue end-user IT organizations. Instead, we believe it will use the fear of legal compliance to pressure IT providers to enter into individual IP agreements. If suppliers balk or challenge Microsoft, this could escalate into a broader conflict as large-scale commercial open-source vendors (such as HP, IBM and Sun) are pulled into the conflict when their customers and partners turn to them for protection and support," stated Gartner analysts Mark Driver, George J. Weiss and Brian Prentice back in May 2007.