Novell slaps SCO's hand

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May 29th, 2003, 12:30 AM
IceStorm

Novell slaps SCO's hand

Novell shows support for Linux in the following article. It seems that Novell owns the copyrights to Unix and not SCO after all.
Web reference http://www.novell.com/news/press/arc...5/pr03033.html

Quote:

SCO continues to say that it owns the UNIX System V patents, yet it must know that it does not. A simple review of U.S. Patent Office records reveals that Novell owns those patents [1].

Could SCO have known that they don’t own the patents that they are accusing IBM and Linux on infringing on? Could they have missed something like this? Do they know they don’t own these patents and yet still continue to scream ‘IP infringement’?

Is this the same IP that Microsoft licensed? http://news.com.com/2100-1016_3-1007528.html

Quote:

We believe it unlikely that SCO can demonstrate that it has any ownership interest whatsoever in those copyrights. Apparently, you share this view, since over the last few months you have repeatedly asked Novell to transfer the copyrights to SCO, requests that Novell has rejected. Finally, we find it telling that SCO failed to assert a claim for copyright or patent infringement against IBM [1].

It seems that SCO may be feverishly trying to obtain ownership of UNIX copyrights that it may be trying to use against IBM and Linux. It looks like an end around.

Quote:

We hope you understand the potential significant legal liability SCO faces for the possible harm it is causing to countless customers, developers, and other Linux community members [1].

“Significant legal liability.” I hope SCO heard this loud and clear. They should since this is the kind of stuff they have been spewing. http://www.sco.com/scosource/letter_...customers.html

Last I heard, SCO was not worth much. Perhaps they could be absorbed by a company claiming that their business was damaged due to false claims.

Quote:

We demand that SCO retract its false and unsupported assertions of ownership in UNIX patents and copyrights or provide us with conclusive information regarding SCO's ownership claims. In the future, we hope SCO will adhere to standards of strict accuracy when stating its rights in UNIX [1].

I can’t wait to see this retraction if and when it does happen.

1) http://www.novell.com/news/press/arc...5/pr03033.html
May 29th, 2003, 01:43 AM
TheFiend

All i have to say about this is "hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha"
May 29th, 2003, 09:48 AM
instronics

w00t w00t.

..oO(Goes to hug my linux boxes) ;)
May 29th, 2003, 03:27 PM
PhirePhreak

*reaches for a One that is Cold*

Ah, Linux is the life :)

--PhirePhreak
May 29th, 2003, 04:36 PM
alittlebitnumb

I like Linux :)
May 29th, 2003, 04:43 PM
Shrekkie

w000t,

What would we all do without linux ?
I guess selling some hotdogs is nice too :D

greetz,
May 29th, 2003, 05:29 PM
gore

I started using Linux like, soon after i got a computer, i love it, i just think it should have better support from PC mans. I think the reason some people dont buy or invest in Linux is because its not common to have a PC come pre installed with it. Free BSD and Linux should have more spaces on the floor. I think it would dky rocket if peopel could go to best buy and buy a PC with BSD or Linux installed on it and ready to go.
May 29th, 2003, 06:05 PM
KorpDeath

You might want to take alook at this also.

http://www.opensource.org/sco-vs-ibm.html#id2854550

P.S. I used to hate Novell, now they seem to be on the right track. (except with their software)
May 29th, 2003, 06:08 PM
Maestr0

It looks like another M$ vs Mac case, where SCO's just mad someone stole the neighbors TV first.

-Maestr0
May 29th, 2003, 06:11 PM
thread_killer

I've been upgrading a very large Novell Network to NetWare 6 and now, 6.5.

The similarities with some of the linux distros out there is amazing. I work with five other Novell Engineers who are all better than I at the old stuff, but I'm the only one who works with Linux, so they all have to come to me hat-in-hand and ask me questions about how to make stuff work on the new servers. How sweet it is! Anyway....NetWare 6 even uses ICEWM and XFree86....when you boot one up one of the new servers you would swear you were booting a dead rat......um, I mean red hat box up. It's nice to see all the different diciplines I've studied coming together. :) It's even nicer that I'm the only one who knows this stuff at work. Talk about job security! :D
May 29th, 2003, 07:15 PM
Lv4

w00t. I have always been a fan of Novell, and have been fairly saddened at their huge market loss.

Sure their old stuff was fairly clunky, but I still have fond memories of pulling all nighters, or a weekender to fix a hard problem.
May 29th, 2003, 08:57 PM
PhirePhreak

Quote:

Originally posted here by KorpDeath
P.S. I used to hate Novell, now they seem to be on the right track. (except with their software)

True, true.

*tips hat*

I've never been a big fan of Novell's products, but I'm now definitely a fan of the company. They slapped SCO pretty good! :blast:

--PhirePhreak
June 2nd, 2003, 03:16 AM
IceStorm

Quote:

If IBM wants to buy The SCO Group Inc. and end SCO's ongoing Unix licensing assault on Linux, CEO Darl McBride is apparently all ears.

McBride's comments came in reaction to a report from Forrester Research Inc. analyst Ted Schadler, who wrote last week that IBM or an IBM-led consortium will likely "pay off SCO" or buy the company to "make the SCO problem go away."

source page http://www.computerworld.com/softwar...,81709,00.html

Looks like there is truth in the speculation that SCO wants to be bought out.
June 2nd, 2003, 09:09 AM
the_JinX

ICeStorm, that's a posibility too..

The one thing I do know is that SCO has had the most publicity ever..
and remember, there's no such thing as BAD publicity..
June 4th, 2003, 03:48 AM
IceStorm

I just read this article http://www.alwayson-network.com/comm...id=514_0_3_0_C by an IP lawyer. It is titled "SCO & UNIX: A Comedy of Errors." It is kind of funny.
June 4th, 2003, 05:17 AM
SoggyBottom

You think that is funny!! Check out the link that I posted in the Tech Humour Forum, I came close to wetting myself when I saw this...

http://www.antionline.com/showthread...hreadid=244464
June 6th, 2003, 01:33 AM
IceStorm

That was a riot. I can hear SCO now, "Tham dukes!"
June 8th, 2003, 02:47 PM
Syini666

SCO shows some proof

Quote:

PARK RIDGE, Ill. â€” SCO Group revealed the foundation of its legal battle with the Linux community, when it rolled out evidence of large blocks of Linux code that it contends were stolen from Unix. Analysts who saw the samples of the allegedly stolen code said the evidence is damaging and that SCO Group has a formidable legal case.

â€œIf everything SCO showed me today is true, then the Linux community should be very concerned,â€ said Bill Claybrook, research director for Linux and open-source software at the Aberdeen Group (Boston).

If SCO (Lindon, Utah) prevails in its legal efforts, many observers believe the action could, at best, result in hundreds of multimillion-dollar licensing payments from Fortune 1000 companies and, at worst, damage the foundation of open-source software.

Full Article [ here ]

It seems two analysts have checked the code and 80 lines including comments match up very closely. I wonder what kind of impact this is going to make on the whole mess? It already seems like a disaster in the making, and I can't even imagine whats next.
June 8th, 2003, 05:31 PM
IceStorm

Quote:

It seems two analysts have checked the code and 80 lines including comments match up very closely. I wonder what kind of impact this is going to make on the whole mess? It already seems like a disaster in the making, and I can't even imagine whats next.

The way I see it right now.

1) Those lines may have been taken from a BSD a used in SCO UNIX, which would mean that they are not the property of SCO any way.
2) The may have come from an older version on Unix that was ruled public domain by the courts. http://www.alwayson-network.com/comm...id=514_0_4_0_C
3) This little statement from then Caldera may invalidate SCO/Caldera’s claim. http://www.tuhs.org/Archive/Caldera-license.pdf
4) IBM may buy out SCO.
5) Maybe those lines of code came from Linux itself (although I think unlikely, but possible).

Worst case scenario for end users.
SCO wins and some of the kernel needs to be rewritten.

Worst case scenario for big business.
SCO wins and want some $$. The win would most likely be a huge setback to Linux deployments in the enterprise. (Would Big Blue let this happen? I doubt it.)