According to the article referenced in the first post in this thread, Novell approached Microsoft.. not the other way around.

In either case, when it comes to agreements like they made, companies initially sign NDAs to protect any information that may be shared in the event no agreement is made.

>This sounds ridiculous, if I'm getting this anywhere close to right. "We want to sue you, but before we go that far, we want to discuss it with you - but then you have to promise to keep it a secret". What then, if they won't promise? They won't be sued? And if it ever gets to court, how to keep it secret then?
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>Smells like FUD to me, Miloshevich style. Tons of unqualified allegations, without a single verifiable published fact. Just a scare tactic.