Washington – Today the Association for Competitive Technology (ACT) commended Microsoft and Novell for announcing an important partnership agreement that puts customers and innovation before licensing ideology. The wide-ranging agreement will undoubtedly move the industry further toward a new level of cooperation between open source and proprietary businesses.
ACT president Jonathan Zuck made the following statement in response:
“Microsoft and Novell should be commended for putting customers and innovation before licensing ideology. This is the kind of achievement that can only be reached when parties respect one another’s innovations and intellectual property and put their customers first.”
“This announcement is a victory for customers and the industry, including small software developers developing solutions for both Windows and Linux platforms. It is further proof that free market forces are working and enable a vibrant software ecosystem that provides customer choice, innovation and competitive products.”
“The reality is that customers are not interested in the best proprietary product or best open source product; they want the best product, period. With their pioneering approach, Microsoft and Novell are giving customers the choice and legal certainty they have demanded; leaving behind the religious and philosophical licensing debates around open source and proprietary software.”
ACT will be continuing its analysis of this agreement on the ACT blog www.theactblog.org. To schedule an interview with Jonathan Zuck, please contact Mark Blafkin at +1 (202) 740-7483.
The Association for Competitive Technology (ACT) is an international education and advocacy group for the technology industry. Focusing on the interests of small and mid-size entrepreneurial technology companies, ACT advocates for a “Healthy Tech Environment” that promotes innovation, competition and investment. ACT has been active on issues such as intellectual property, international trade, e-commerce, privacy, internet policy and antitrust. ACT represents more than 3000 software developers, systems integrators, IT consulting and training firms, and e-businesses from around the world.
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