The Free Software Foundation (FSF) finally delivered itself of the third draft of the GPL rewrite known as GPLv3 on Wednesday.

This is the draft that got held up for months because of the surprise Microsoft-Novell rapprochement in November that the FSF found so offensive it decided it had to make changes in the prospective GPL 3 "to prevent such deals from making a mockery of free software."

FSF's biggest problem with the Microsoft-Novell arrangement is that it appears that Novell is paying Microsoft not to sue its SUSE Linux users for patent infringement, at least the ones that pay Novell money, leaving users of other brands of Linux to twist in the wind with worry.

FSF claims that such an arrangement makes free software "effectively proprietary" and splits the Linux community into haves and have-nots.

So what it's done is come up with two new paragraphs - one directed at Microsoft, the other at Novell and neither of them, frankly, very easy to read - to address the issues they pose. (See below for the exact words.)

The Microsoft-directed verbiage, known in FSF parlance as paragraph four, would force Microsoft, if it distributes GPL 3-protected code on Novell's behalf like it's doing by spreading SUSE subscription certificates around, to extend the patent protection it promised solely to Novell users to all users of that GPL 3-licensed and derivative software.

The Novell verbiage, otherwise known as paragraph five, on the other hand, would bar any companies who sign an indemnification deal like the Microsoft-Novell from distributing any GPL 3-covered code.