Understanding Defense & Indemnification

There's a distinction between the two that I'm not sure slashdot understands. When Microsoft announced that it will indemnify "nearly all its customers against any claims that their use of Microsoft software infringed on any intellectual-property claim" ... slashdot asked "Is Microsoft opening itself to defending thousands of lawsuits against their customers?"

The answer is yes, but its not mentioned in MS' press release: Microsoft Extends Intellectual Property Protection to Millions of End Users, but it is explicitly stated in their Microsoft Intellectual Property Indemnification policy:

In the event of a covered infringement claim against a Microsoft software offering, Microsoft will help protect the end user from the costs of defending the claim and from court-awarded damages.

updated 11/11/04