SCO Yanks IBM's Unix License

eWeek.com ^ | June 16, 2003 | Peter Galli

[HAL9000]

The SCO Group, which is suing IBM for $1 billion, on Monday terminated Big Blue's right to use or distribute its Unix-based AIX operating system.

SCO on Monday said it was going to file an amendment to the complaint against IBM with the United States District Court of Utah, where the case is currently pending, for a permanent injunction requiring IBM to cease and desist all use and distribution of AIX and to destroy or return all copies of Unix System V source code.

[2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten]

My purely uneducated guess is that this amounts to legalized extortion of IBM by SCO and will eventually be found to be such by the courts. I realize that SCO does hold certain patents and copyrights wrt to unix, but my gut feeling is that they will not be allowed to stick a gun to IBM's head for a $1 billion payoff. Of course, I could be wrong.

[SoDak]

But SCO's CEO Darl McBride told eWEEK in an interview on Monday that "AIX customers will not have an authorized right to use the software, and we are going to tell them to seek legal opinion as to what it means to be running your business on unauthorized version of software."

Sorry Darl, it's business as usual for myself and my 920 platforms. Apparently, your legal team is the only one to disagree.

[KarlInOhio]

I realize that SCO does hold certain patents and copyrights wrt to unix

Did the whole license vs. ownership get straightened out with Novell, or did you miss that?

I haven't kept up with this whole soap opera since last week when some Linux programmer found his code in SCO's code.

[Batrachian]

Why doesn't IBM just buy SCO and be done with it (the George Harrison defense)?

[Prince Charles]

Jesse Jackson could learn a thing or two about shakedowns from the crackpots at SCO.

[ThinkDifferent]

Why doesn't IBM just buy SCO and be done with it

Giving in to extortion only encourages more of the same. IBM needs to crush SCO to set an example to anyone else considering trying to profit via frivolous lawsuits.

[Revolting cat!]

Santa Cruz Operation, SCO, is trying to sell everybody an ocean front property in Lindon, Utah!

[Mind-numbed Robot]

Didn't SCO purchase the rights to Unix from someone else and weren't the agreements IBM signed with AT&T, the developer of Unix? If so, SCO is trying a version of the asbestos and tobacco scams.

[DB]

SCO needs to be crushed.

[Batrachian]

Maybe SCO is right? They do own the copyright to Unix, and AIX is chock full of Unix code. Who knows?

[Nick Danger]

IBM's Response

June 16, 2003, Armonk, NY.... Since filing a lawsuit against IBM, SCO has made public statements and accusations about IBM's Unix license and about Linux in an apparent attempt to create fear uncertainty and doubt among IBM's customers and the open source community.

IBM's Unix license is irrevocable, perpetual and fully paid up. It cannot be terminated. This matter will eventually be resolved in the normal legal process.

IBM will continue to ship, support and develop AIX which represents years of IBM innovation, hundreds of millions of dollars of investment and many patents. As always, IBM will stand behind our products and our customers.

# # #

Trink Guarino
Director, IBM Media Relations

[Emma]

because thats what SCO wants.

[Centurion2000]

BINGO

[dennisw]

When is SCO going to be sued for extortion and making naked attempts at sabotaging IBM's business and that of others?

[Reeses]

IBM needs to crush SCO to set an example to anyone else considering trying to profit via frivolous lawsuits.

There are growing ranks of starving lawyers right now. This may be lawyers getting together and saying "you sue my back and I'll sue yours". I can't imagine this is in the SCO stockholders interests. Surprisingly the stock, SCOX, has had a big run up because of this lawsuit. It looks to me to be a good short candidate.

[Incorrigible]

Just to be safe, I suggest everyone buy Microsoft Windows.

[Alas Babylon!]

LoL!!! I'm an MCT, so you're right! Seriously, however, folks could just download and install Linux for free!!!!!

[Nick Danger]

The statement by IBM is a fairly strong one. They are basically saying that they are going to court, and they do not expect to lose.

If this was an extortion play, McBride picked the wrong guys to screw with. It's clear now that IBM's lawyers are 100% certain that SCO's claims will not hold up in court. They are going to stiff this guy. In fact they will now spend whatever it takes to squash him like a bug. In spite of McBride's increasingly belligerent rhetoric, he must be wondering what he's gotten himself into. His lawyers told him this would be a cakewalk; that he'd get tens of millions of dollars out of it.

McBride is David. He's fired his slingshot, but Goliath did not go down. Goliath is still standing, and now he's pissed. This is not how it happened in the book.

[KayEyeDoubleDee]

Maybe SCO is right?

It's interesting to note many on FreeRepublic seem to be taking the side of the behemoth IBM against the intellectual property-rights weilding SCO.

Did it every occur to anyone that SCO might have a good case that IBM gave trade secrets (I mean its not like they aren't in the process of dumping AIX for Linux), or that a bunch of Linux developers (yours truly excluded) might have cut and paste a bunch of their code, etc.

Or do all the bow-at-the-alter-of-GPL, free software kooks just gravitate to these threads?