The Linux Foundation has announced that they will be hosting two summits. The two meetings will focus on Linux, and what part it plays in modern business environments in a legal role. That is, whether or not a company can be legally hurt by choosing to use Linux and what companies can do about it. The first of these meetings is invite-only, the second will be much more open. Afterwards they intend to do this on a yearly basis, likely due to increased pressure from companies like Microsoft.

Scare tactics work. Microsoft knows this, and it's one of the big reasons they have no qualms about telling people they can get sued into oblivion if they decide to use Linux. That has likely played a part in the various "Microsoft Deals" that several companies have latched onto. These summits are an attempt to curb that, and help people (vendors included) to feel better about their software choices, particularly in the legal arena:

These conferences will provide the only vendor-neutral forums in which leading attorneys from open source companies and the community can collaborate to understand and solve legal issues surrounding Linux and open source software.
This is definitely a good thing. No software should be put into the dirt simply because a larger vendor "threatens" its users with legal action.