Blog - /Quotes

Various people asserted that Novell's patent protection is comparable to the indemnification that Red Hat and HP offer. But nothing could be farther from the truth. Companies that offer indemnification don't have a business relationship with the aggressor, just as insurance companies don't make a contract with the local burglars to deter them from robbing certain houses. Indemnities protect against all potential aggressors, in a similar way to insurance. But the Novell-Microsoft relationship is more like making a contract with the local burglars — Microsoft is both the party making the threat, and the party offering "protection", much as an extortionist would elicit a fee to "protect" a business from his own violence.

— Bruce Parens [original quote]