Moglen had another card to play. In his view, the fact that Microsoft was selling coupons that customers could trade in for Novell Linux subscriptions meant that Microsoft was now a Linux distributor. And that, as Moglen saw it, meant that Microsoft was itself subject to the terms of the GPL. So he’d write a clause saying, in effect, that if Microsoft continued to issue Novell Linux coupons after the revised GPL took effect, it would be waiving its right to bring patent suits not just against Novell customers, but against all Linux users. “I told Brad,” he recalls, “‘I think you should just walk away from the patent part of the deal now.’”

Smith didn’t, and Moglen kept his promise. On March 28, the Free Software Foundation made public revised GPL provisions, which are expected to take effect in July.

Microsoft and Novell both vow to proceed with their deal as planned. Microsoft claims that its mere distribution of coupons won’t make it subject to the GPL, as Moglen asserts. But even if Microsoft is right about that, there’s no doubt that distributors remain subject to it, and Moglen’s revisions will bar them from trying to strike deals like Novell’s.