SCO declares war on Linux (A study in self-immolation)

Jason Stephenson jason at sigio.com
Thu May 15 13:38:10 EDT 2003


Jerry Feldman wrote:
> That is true. BTW: Linus also responded in the following URL.
> http://www.linuxworld.com/go.cgi?id=742372

I agree with what Linus says above. I'd like to know just what they 
claim infringes their copyrights.

I know that they're saying that IBM had licensed access to the UNIX 
source (in AIX, a System V UNIX) that SCO ended up getting from AT&T via 
Novell and others and that IBM then violated the license by using that 
code in GNU/Linux. I want to know specifically from SCO what code in 
what applications infringes on the System V license.

> Again, I don't know what SCO's strategy is (or was), but they have
> certainly angered the Linux (and possibly the Unix) community. 
> Lawsuits are necessary in business, many times to protect proprietary
> information. In some cases, as a way to possibly get an infusion of cash
> or to become acquired. In many cases it becomes a PR nightmare. 
> The problem here is that SCO has the proprietary rights to the
> commercial Unix code, such that all commercial Unix products must obtain
> the appropriate licenses. I think that the initial lawsuit has backfired
> on SCO forcing them to take on not only IBM, but also nearly the entire
> Linux market. I don't subscribe the the Microsoft Conspiracy Theory. I
> don't think that Microsoft had anything to do with this.

Yeah, "if you can't compete, litigate." Way to go SCO.

This is all part of a larger struggle that's going on right now. Not to 
put too dramatic a point on it, but there is a very real battle for 
control going on in the United States. Large corporations are trying 
harder and harder to gain control over the means of production and 
distribution, while the ready availability of relatively cheap computers 
and Internet access have leveled the playing field such that anyone can 
literally compete with the big boys. The business community is headed 
one way and most of the culture is headed the other. Unfortunately, the 
corporations have the money to buy the laws and the justice that they 
want. Fortunately, most people don't let the law govern their daily 
lives, until the heavy hand of "justice" gets a hold of them.

BTW, wasn't SCO UNIX originally Xenix, Microsoft's UNIX? Didn't Santa 
Cruz Operation acquire it from Microsoft? This is separate from their 
getting the rights to the "real" UNIX source.




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