To have OS/2 released to a development community has been the fond hope of many OS/2 fans and a lot of developers. It's not going to happen. I'm sure it could, but IBM is not going to pay for the legal legwork needed to stay out of patent and copyright hell. There is no reason for them to, in light of their already expensive and extensive committment to Linux and AIX.
Nevertheless; various communities have been trying to get IBM to release OS/2 for years. Now we've had a second answer to a petition asking just that. The answer is a resounding "no".
Jack
As I seem to remember, OS/2 was co-developed with MicroSoft, and I can't begin to sort out the complexities of what may, or may not be in there, that MS would come unglued about. IBM opening OS/2 seems like it would be the same as MS opening Windows 3.x, including the NT 3.5 side.
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