Here’s how it works: Novell owns Unix’s IP (intellectual property). SCO sold Unix’s IP to Sun. Sun then included some Unix IP into Solaris. Finally, Sun open sourced Solaris as OpenSolaris. Sounds like trouble, doesn’t it?

While Sun’s Chief Open Source Officer Simon Phipps described the line of logic above as “sheer speculation,”. However, analysts, lawyers and open source leaders also agreed that it’s unlikely Novell would ever choose to make trouble for Sun. Novell, however, has not commented on its intentions despite several attempts to get the Linux company’s take on the issue.

So, most people agree: Novell could give Sun a real legal headache, but since that wouldn’t serve the Linux company’s goals; no one can see Novell trying it. For the time being, at least, it appears that Sun will be getting a free legal pass for OpenSolaris.

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