Red Hat Inc today settled two patent lawsuits that the Linux software firm had been contesting.

It said that patent claims by Firestar Software Inc, filed in 2006, and DataTern Inc, filed earlier this year, have now been settled. The financial terms of both deals were kept secret.

However, the company remains embroiled in a third patent complaint filed last October by IP Innovation LLC and Technology Licensing Corporation, which has claimed damages and is demanding an injunction to stop Red Hat and Novell continuing alleged infringement.

The lawsuit accuses Red Hat and Novell of infringing three patents, all of which appear to have originally been assigned to Xerox.

The Linux vendors are accused of breaking several patents relating to "User Interface with Multiple Workspaces for Sharing Display System Objects". ®