Boies' Take (SCO Sues IBM Over Linux )

Forbes ^ | 05.28.03, 6:03 PM ET | Victoria Murphy,

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Computer Hardware & Software
Boies' Take
Victoria Murphy, 05.28.03, 6:03 PM ET

SAN FRANCISCO - Hired gun David Boies can't understand why no one likes his client. All SCO Group did was file a billion-dollar lawsuit against IBM claiming the computer giant was sharing code secrets with open source developers. Somehow, everyone thinks SCO is in it for the money and out to thwart Linux.

In Boies' eyes, it's hard to see how anyone could jump to that conclusion. The $1 billion in damages and future royalties SCO (nasdaq: SCOX - news - people ) is seeking won't put a mere dent in the Linux movement: "That's a cost that gets lost in the rounding," says Boies, adding, "The cost efficiency of Linux won't rise or fall."

But there is another cost--the likely increase in billable hours from law firm Boies Schiller & Flexner and others to figure out this mess. The already convoluted tale took a new twist today. Software firm Novell (nasdaq: NOVL - news - people ) asserted a claim to Unix patents and copyrights. This is a direct rebuff to Provo, Utah-based SCO.

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Novell insists that the future of Linux is at risk given SCO's actions. "We want SCO to know this isn't a pain-free move," says Bruce Lowry, a spokesman for Novell. "They've been playing this up so much in the media and we're tired of it," he adds. Next year, Novell is launching a Linux-based version of its ailing Netware product line in an effort to boost sales.

Boies thinks any harm done to Linux may actually be the fault of the open source platform's own backers. "They make the case a threat just by talking about it," says Boies, who was interviewed prior to the Novell announcement.

SCO hasn't exactly been quiet itself. The company sent 1,500 letters to executives of large enterprises warning that running the open source platform could put them in violation of patents. Neither Novell nor IBM (nyse: IBM - news - people ) have seen any customer defecting from Linux.

Boies, who played a major role in the government's antitrust case against Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ), still considers himself a big backer of competition in the software industry. He maintains that this lawsuit only helps the cause. "You don't want proprietary software to kill Linux or vice versa. I want to make sure the playing field doesn't get tipped," he says. There is much debate about who, if anyone, can stake a claim on the code written 34 years ago at Bell Labs. Open source guru Eric Raymond is working to prove that it is already in the hands of too many rogue developers to have an owner.

Microsoft this month gave a nod to SCO's claim when it signed a deal worth perhaps $10 million for Unix licenses. Skeptics say that for a small outlay, Microsoft is taking a jab at rival IBM and the free software movement it so desperately wants to squash.

Although dollar-figure sales for Linux remain low, it is taking a significant share of the server platform market that Microsoft would gladly take a larger stake in.

According to research firm IDC, 26% of the servers shipped last year were running on Linux. Executives at Microsoft have stated that the licensing agreement with SCO was made prior to the announcement of the lawsuit.

So far, SCO's shareholders have benefited from its intellectual property crusade. The company's stock has increased threefold since March. And today quarterly sales were announced, up 38% from a year ago.

More From Forbes

SCO Sues IBM Over Linux 03.06.03
The software firm slaps Big Blue with a billion-dollar suit alleging theft of trade secrets.

SCO Threatens To Revoke IBM's Unix License 03.07.03
The software firm says IBM has 100 days to stop "anti-competitive practices."

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

OFFICIAL BUMP(TOPIC)LIST

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Related article:

Novell Puts the Lie to SCO's Linux Attack

And Microsoft Co-Opts Open Source On Its Terms

[AmericaUnited]

This lawsuit is laughable and will prevail. TAKE THAT TO THE BANK!

[litany_of_lies]

What chance is there that the economy will suffer if SCO wins? I smell a RAT who conveniently wants to make corporate computing inordinately expensive so the economy will slow down, or alternatively wants to tie the Fortune 100 up in legal knots to accomplish the same end.

Any legal eagle with an objective opinion on who is right is welcome t rationally explain his position here. There's too much heat and not enough light right now.

[Only1choice____Freedom]

"Hired gun David Boies can't understand why no one likes his client."

Didn't he say that about his other famous client?

[AmericaUnited]

and will prevail = "WILL NOT"

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

This lawsuit is laughable and will prevail

Do you mean :This lawsuit is laughable and will NOT prevail?

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

OK!

[Trajan88]

Hey David Boies... go back to Armonk... you know, not too far from the Klinton's "home."

Trajan88

[Trajan88]

Hey David Boies... go back to Armonk... you know, not too far from the Klinton's "home."

Trajan88

[Incorrigible]

David Boies is already a three time loser.  I think it's time for retirement.

However, the GNU licensing scheme does undermine intellectual property.

[B Knotts]

However, the GNU licensing scheme does undermine intellectual property

How does it do that? No one is forced to license their software under the GPL, nor are they forced to use other people's GPL-licensed code in their project. Furthermore, the author of a GPL-licensed project retains full copyright ownership, and can license his code in other ways, in addition to the GPL (that's what Troll Tech does with Qt)