IBM Countersues SCO!

[section321]

IBM has filed suit against SCO. The suit alleges that SCO:

- Has violated 4 IBM patents (unrelated to Linux)
- Has interferred with IBM's business by stating they revoked IBM's AIX license. IBM points out that Novell specifically forbade SCO from revoking the license.
- Has violated the GPL, under which Linux is distributed. SCO is subject to the GPL becuase they released their own version of Linux under the GPL.

This is awsome! Darl McBride and his band of Enronesque, IP bandits are stuck between a rock and hard place.

:linuxrules:

Related articles can be found at:

http://slashdot.org/articles/03/08/07/159200.shtml?tid=123&tid=136&tid=187&tid=88&tid=99

http://www.infoworld.com/article/03/08/07/HNibmlawsuit_1.html

[mrfrapp]

1. Hmmm

I'm glad that IBM has finally pulled it's finger out, but I don't like that they've opened their Big Bag of Patents. To me, that's a worry. I don't like software patents, never have, never will and IBM is the worst offender. Then again, for the time being I don't mind rooting for the lesser of two evils.

[section321]

2. I agree on the patents....

but from a strategy standpoint this puts SCO on the defensive. Now SCO has to put up with the same harassment they've been doling out.

OTOH, these four patents sound very broad. Exactly the kind of patent that's bad news.

But for now, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

[salin]

3. help for the clueless

quick summary - who is SCO? Without the background the articles are just confusing. Thanks.

[section321]

4. This is a long story, so hear goes...

Briefly, SCO is a company that is trying to shake down IBM and the Linux community.

For starters, SCO is a company that owns the rights to a particular UNIX code base that is the base for many commercial UNIX operating systems.

They filed suit against IBM alleging that IBM had allowed copyrighted code to make its way into Linux. Now here's where it gets ugly. SCO has been running around telling everyone that uses Linux that they need to pay a license fee to SCO; something in the neighborhood of $1300. SCO also revoked IBM's license for AIX, which is IBM's version of UNIX. A legal revocation of this license would be huge.

The next twist comes when you realize the guys that call themselves SCO are really a company called Caldera that bought SCO. They took the SCO name bacause SCO has a lot of history in the UNIX world. The people of Caldera have a history of shaking people down on intellectual property rights. (see DR-DOS and Microsoft).

Is that enough to get you up to speed?

[salin]

7. Not fully - but definitely enough to wet my apetite

interesting stuff. In grad school the U was all on unix (which can be a hard system for non techie folks like me). Lived in the land of high tech and while I am not familiar with SCO and Caldera, I certainly remember the early skirmishes (different issues) with MS vs Sun Microsystems and a myriad of other players. GOing way back wasn't there an issue with MS and Windows - and Apple trying to prevent windows since it was based on the design used for mac that, iirc had been designed by microsoft for mac? Or something to that effect (goes far back in my memory - and its not my field so I am sure I am misrepresenting stuff).

This current one sounds like a very, very interesting story to follow.

[Walt Starr]

8. It's also hilarious that what they claim is their IP being stolen in Linux

was released under the GPL by them as Caldera.

[section321]

9. I'm hoping the SCO guys all end up under investigation

for a "pump and dump" scheme.

The stock was a penny stock not too long ago and its currently trading around $10/share.

May they rot in hell.

[gbwarming]

10. don't know about SCO, but DR-DOS was a legit complaint.

Take yourself back to ~1990--- Windows was an add on program running on top of DOS from Microsoft, IBM (under Microsoft license), or Digital Research.

DR-DOS was arguably better at memory management and, I forget what else. It was functionally compatible with MS-DOS HOWEVER Misrosoft put warnings into the Windows install program that warned users with DR-DOS that they might have problems because of their DOS version and should get MS-DOS instead.

There was no technical reason for the warning and MS went out of their way to hide their actions by encrypting the bits of code that did the check.

[sujan]

11. the US government chickened out, I hope the EU

punishes MSFT.

[section321]

13. I may be wrong on this, but...

but I believe the people behind the current SCO picked up DRDOS for a song and then proceeded to go after Microsoft. I'll try to find the article, but that was my frame of reference when I mentioned it.

[gbwarming]

15. You're right

Fair enough. I'd call Caldera/MS suit opportunistic but not frivolous?

http://news.bc.co.uk/hi/english/business/newsid_600000/600488.stm
<snip>
In 1996, Caldera purchased DR-DOS, a serious rival to the MS-DOS operating system, from Novell for $400,000. DR-DOS was originally developed in Hungerford, England, by Digital Research, which was subsequently acquired by Novell.

Caldera inherited the right to sue Microsoft for alleged anti-competitive actions against DR-DOS when it was a rival to MS-DOS in Windows 3.1.
<snip>
Just before the settlement was announced, Caldera Systems announced it had received a $30 million investment from Sun, SCO, Citrix and Novell.

By a remarkable and completely unrelated coincidence, Caldera Systems also announced on Monday that it had filed to go public. With the precedent of Linux distributor Red Hat's IPO, it is likely that Caldera's shares will open at a significant premium.

[NashVegas]

12. I Think RedHat filed a few days ago, too

go get 'em!

[TrogL]

14. SCO UNIX

was one of the early UNIX's for Intel processors. They had an advertisement showing a huge, old-fashioned, empty computer room with a little PC in one corner with a bunch of cabling coming out of it.

At the time, I made a case for using it in my environment, but I got overruled primarily because Intel didn't have enough horsepower (and still doesn't).

[saganaki]

5. Are you all IP people?

If so, I've got a question regarding Lmelson, submarine patents, and licensing.

[section321]

6. Sorry no. Computer geek.

.

[cprise]

16. Look where this could be going

SCO quote:
"What is at issue is more than SCO and Red Hat.
"What is at issue is intellectual property rights in the age of the Internet. ... important debate ... proprietary or communal property according to Richard Stallman's vision."

http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=73646&threshold=1&commentsort=0&tid=106&tid=185&tid=187&tid=88&tid=98&tid=99&mode=thread&cid=6618572