SCO preparing to sue linux end users

[manadren_it]

SCO keeps on truckin, trying to scare liscense fees out of linux user over those 70 lines of mystery code supposedly stolen from Unix. Right now they are looking to target only big comapnies, hoping to scare everyone else into paying into their little extortion game...

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DATE: 20/08/2003
SCO Preparing Legal Action Against Customer

By Matthew Aslett

SCO Group Inc is preparing to take a Linux user to court to speed up the legal process in its claim Unix code has been illegally copied into Linux, and also encourage Linux users to take out a license for its intellectual property.

The company has signed one large customer up to its Intellectual Property License for Linux, but faces opposition from many more who believe SCO must prove its claims in a court of law before they will hand over the $700 per CPU for the license.

Speaking at SCO's Forum event in Las Vegas, president and CEO Darl McBride said SCO preparing to speed-up the legal process and convince the skeptics. "We are prepared to have this heard on a quicker basis in a customer environment if that's what it takes to quicken it up," he said.

Talking to ComputerWire, McBride added SCO is identifying Linux users for possible litigation. He said SCO had for the last month gathered information on Linux users, and identified about 10% of the total Linux servers sold last year. McBride added that he expected that figure to rise to 40% over the coming weeks before SCO would take action.

SCO has three groups working on identifying and approaching Linux users. The first is drawing up the list, the second will send out letters offering the chance to license the code SCO says has been copied into Linux, and the third will take legal action against those who refuse.

McBride said SCO was likely to be selective about who it targets, probably choosing a company using IBM Corp's AIX and Dynix operating systems as well as Linux, so it can settle several legal arguments in one go. "Instead of doing mass-mailings we're now taking a very targeted approach," he said.

Choosing a user of AIX and Dynix would help the company to back up its position that it terminated IBM's licenses for Unix in AIX and Dynix in June and August respectively. SCO has alleged IBM donated Unix code to Linux and is suing the company for misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of contract and unfair competition.

SCO executives and representatives, meanwhile, used Forum to repeat earlier criticism of the General Public License (GPL), which it said has forced it to take action against Linux users, despite being able to identify which companies and individuals are responsible for copying its code into Linux.

"There's a bouncing ball that ends up in the hands of customers because of the GPL," said McBride.

Chris Sontag, senior vice president and general manager of the company's SCOsource business, added: "There is no warranty for infringement of intellectual property [in the GPL], so all of the liability ends up with end users."

Mark Heise, of law firm Boies Schiller and Flexner, representing SCO against IBM, believes SCO is entitled to pursue users based on its claims. "End users are improperly using this copyrighted material, and under copyright law SCO is entitled to damages and injunctive relief," he said.

Sontag warned users that ignoring SCO's requests to license the code in advance of a court case could be costly. "Those who have chosen to ignore the license are more in a situation of potential willful infringement," Sontag said.

Archived topic from Iceteks, old topic ID:1233, old post ID:10907