Big Blue files counterclaims against SCO

[DeadAddict]

IBM on Thursday filed counterclaims against the SCO Group in the continuing legal battle over the Linux operating system
To read more http://news.com.com/2100-1016_3-5060965.html?tag=fd_top

[MrLinus]

All I can say is.... BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...

[DeadAddict]

I knew you would get a kick out of that MsMittens Hehehe

[the_JinX]

UPDATE - IBM files countersuit against SCO, SCO shares drop

IBM, in its counter-suit filed in federal court in Utah, said SCO had infringed on four IBM patents and breached the general public license for Linux, according to the court documents. SCO is based in Lindon, Utah.

IBM, the world's largest computer company, also said that SCO had damaged its business by disparaging IBM's AIX operating system, or IBM's version of the Unix operating system, by saying it would revoke IBM's Unix licensing rights.

SCO said in a statement that it still intends to require customers to license the versions of Linux it says infringes on its intellectual property.

And here's the best part....

SCO shares, which have gained sharply from about $3 since it announced its suit, fell 97 cents, or 8 percent, to close at $11.03 on the Nasdaq after falling as low as $10.50 in intraday trading. IBM gained 94 cents, or 1 percent, to $80.69 on the New York Stock Exchange

Big Blue files counterclaims against SCO

IBM said four SCO software packages violate four of IBM's patents. The patents cover a data compression technique, a method of navigating among program menus that use options that are arranged in a graphical tree, a method for verifying that an electronic message was received and a method for monitoring computing systems that are linked in a cluster.

The infringing SCO software, IBM said, is its UnixWare and OpenServer operating systems, its SCO Manager remote administration tool and its Reliant HA package, which enables one computer in a cluster to take over if another fails.

IBM argues in the counterclaims that SCO is prohibited from treating any code it distributed under the GPL as proprietary and that its current plan to require Linux users to pay isn't legal.

SCO Media Statement Re IBM Counterclaims

We view IBM's counterclaim filing today as an effort to distract attention from its flawed Linux business model. It repeats the same unsubstantiated allegations made in Red Hat's filing earlier this week. If IBM were serious about addressing the real problems with Linux, it would offer full customer indemnification and move away from the GPL license. As the stakes continue to rise in the Linux battles, it becomes increasingly clear that the core issue is bigger than SCO, Red Hat, or even IBM. The core issue is about the value of intellectual property in an Internet age.