The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh District made a decision last week that few noticed, but could have a huge impact on the future of open source software.

Companies like IBM, Red Hat, and Novell have created an alliance called the Free Software Foundation, and together they create open source software that is often offered to customers for free. They make money from selling equipment (IBM) and customer support and training. Competitors have compared this practice to dumping a product in order to wipe out the competition, which could constitute an antitrust violation.

The court disagreed with that assertion, claiming that people still pay for quality software even when comparable but imperfect substitutes are available for free. I'm not sure I entirely agree with that reasoning, but I do agree with the court's decision, as it validates the whole concept of the open source industry.
Open source earns legal victory | News.blog | CNET News.com