Slashdot Mirror
SCO Awarded UNIX Copyright Regs, McBride Interview
Prizm writes "It seems that SCO is continuing to build up its case for world domination, as today it was awarded U.S. copyright registrations for UNIX System V source code by the U.S. Copyright Office. Shares are up 20%, Novell is nowhere to be found, and SCO is releasing binary, run-only Linux licensing. You can read all about it over in their press release." C|Net is also running an interview with McBride.
Listening in on the SCO conference call today, they announced that all Linux 2.4 users are in violation of their Unix copyrights. They will now be selling a UnixWare license to Linux users to become compliant.
yes and once they reach 5% they have to file with the SEC so doubtful this is what has happened.
You have to buy a seat of UnixWare, per the press release. That's $1500 per seat. Do YOU think anyone is going to pay that?
I am not merely a "consumer" or a "taxpayer". I am a Citizen of the State of Texas
Copyright ownership is not "awarded", it is automatic for the creator of a work.
Prior art has nothing to do with copyright, but relates to patent claims for an invention of something that already existed.
What registering copyright is for is beyond me, but it doesn't change much. Either linux contains SCO code, or it doesn't No amount of registering things will change those facts.
I just wish SCO would show us the code or go away. What they are doing now is harassing people.
-- MartinG To mail me: echo kewyjlcxyzvjfxbqwh | tr bcefhjklqvwxyz
If they own the copyrights to SysV code then they can enforce them as they see fit.
If they can prove that Linux infringes upon those copyrights, then they will be able to charge for its use.
Wrong answer. *They* themselves distributed a Linux kernel, complete with source up until a week or so after they filed the suit, IIRC. If it was infringeing then, then they have relased whatever code might be in there under the terms of the GNU General Public License.
Since the Linux kernel wouldn't by any means be comprised of 100% of their code, that makes any Linux kernel that contains their code a derivative work. Which means that they MUST distribute the source to remain in compliance with license.
In other words, SCO, by releasing a binary-only Linux, is violating the terms of the GNU General Public License, and hence, they are breaking the law.
My journal has hot
The bullshit just keeps rising higher and higher...
"...The company also announced it will offer
UnixWare(R) licenses tailored to support run-time, binary use of Linux for all
commercial users of Linux based on kernel version 2.4.x and later. SCO will
hold harmless commercial Linux customers that purchase a UnixWare license
against any past copyright violations, and for any future use of Linux in a
run-only, binary format."
So users no longer have access to Linux source? They can't recompile the kernel? Oh, that's right, Linux is an "unauthorized derivative of UNIX", so I assume they're laying claim to all of Linux now.
"Since the year 2001 commercial Linux customers have been purchasing and receiving software that includes misappropriated UNIX software owned by SCO... While using pirated software is copyright infringement, our first choice in helping Linux customers is to give them an option that will not disrupt their IT infrastructures..."
They have not provided any proof that Linux contains SCO IP... even if it did that does NOT mean that Linux users are committing software piracy.
Hundreds of files of misappropriated UNIX source code and derivative UNIX
code have been contributed to Linux in a variety of areas, including
multi-processing capabilities. The Linux 2.2.x kernel was able to scale to 2-4 processors. With Linux 2.4.x and the 2.5.x development kernel, Linux now scales to 32 and 64 processors through the addition of advanced Symmetrical Multi-Processing (SMP) capabilities taken from UNIX System V and derivative works, in violation of SCO's contract agreements and copyrights."
This is IBM (and formerly Sequent) code. It's NOT SCO's intellectual property. They CLAIM to have control over its distribution, but again, they haven't proven it in court. That certainly doesn't mean they own it.
I could go on but I'm sure many brighter ones will do a better job...
Wanted: One witty yet thought provoking
This sounds like more than it is, but one must understand a fundamental difference between copyright and other IP, such as patents and trademarks.
When the PTO grants a patent, it awards the actual patent itself after an investigation and a determination that the invention meets the requirements for a patent. When a trademark is registered, a different process takes place, but one that also attempts to determine the validity of the trademark.
Copyright registrations don't do that. They just record the fact that someone claimed that something was theirs on such and such a date.
This is a practical matter, as apart from very bare minimum standards, there isn't a very good way to investigate the validity of a copyright application short of an adversarial proceeding.
- Convince SCO to freely license the copyrights to everyone.
- Change the Linux code to no longer be in violation of the copyright.
- Stop distributing linux.
The GPL quite clearly states that if you will not provide source code to a GPLed binary you distribute, and if you will not allow someone you give GPLed source/binary to to redistribute it under the GPL, it is a GPL violation to distribute it at all. SCO can claim Linux in violation of their copyrights but they can't remove Linux from the GPL.Irritable, left-wing and possibly humorous bumper stickers and t-shirts
Since SCO distributed the OTHER portions of the code that are non-infringing with their IP intermixed, they're in an unenviable position of knowingly infringing the IP rights of other holders.
Clause 4 of the GPL requires that you make everything you ship out to be GPL- no exceptions. They've been distributing Linux in the alleged condition for over seven months now- stating that it was "okay" for them to do so, because the alleged IP was theirs to begin with.
They don't own the other 98% of the kernel source- other people do. And they've been distributing it for too much time to be excused for not knowing what was going on.
I am not merely a "consumer" or a "taxpayer". I am a Citizen of the State of Texas
As far as I'm aware, the US Government does not do copyright searches like they do patent searches. I sincerely doubt that the copyright office did a comparison between Novell's copyrighted material and SCO's and determined that SCO's was significantly different to award the claim. I believe they probably grant any copyright (practically, if you tried to copyright a Harry Potter book or some other well-known text then it would proably not go unnoticed) and let the copyright holders battle it out in court.
Just because they were granted a copyright does not mean that it is a valid copyright.
They want all commercial customers to pay for a Unixware 7.1.3 license for EVERY copy of Linux they are running.
Here's my rundown of the call
Freedom Is Universal
Linux-Universe
No, if they encumber the linux codebase with their own license, then the GPL becomes void and no longer can be used to distribute Linux. At that point, the distribution of every piece of linux that they don't explicitly own becomes prohibited, completely, because Linux falls back to copyright law which indicates that the contributors of the other pieces still own them and have not licensed them to any distribution but GPL. Therefore, if they tell people they need to pay to run linux, linux becomes un-runnable.
In fact, if they actually make anyone pay to run linux, then they can be sued by the contributor of every other piece of code for copyright violation. After all, they distributed the rest of the code without a valid license to do so.
From their site:
Source: Company Profilecorrection to my text: "by *not* offering source"
"now" was a typo.
No, Linus has just stated that he won't pursue such violations of the GPL. But even that doesn't apply to SCO. No matter how you look at it, they're in GPL trouble.
PHEM - party like it's 1997-2003!
How? I've changed my stance on this somewhat.
The GPL doesn't take away any rights whatsoever. It only grants rights, and places conditions on those rights.
If I give you the binary and source code to a program I wrote, and it contains a copryright notice, you have NO RIGHT to distribute or disclose that source NOR it's binary to third parties. Period. The GPL gives you the right to do that, ONLY ON THE CONDITION that you also distribute the source code and make it available.
It's not defeatable at all. Unless they accept the GPL, they have NO RIGHT to distribute the program. At all. Not because it's GPL, but because it is copyrighted and fully protected by United States Copyright Act of 1976, the Software Act of 1980, and various international treaties including the Berne Convention. Failure to abide by the terms of the GPL is called breach of contract. Pure and simple.
My journal has hot
Nope.. If SCO code was in Linux then shipping Linux would be illegal, and SCO cannot make it legal.
If a company ships Linux 'knowing' that SCO have rights to portions of it, then they are breaching the copyright because the kernel they no longer have the right to distribute under the GPL.
Since SCO still haven't indicated what is in the kernel and have won no court cases proving that the code is in the kernel, and have previously shipped the code under the GPL knowing it was in there, and are now effectively inciting piracy - it will all probably fizzle out when they go belly up and IBM buys up the rights.
I really have no idea why this was modded as funny. It's not. While revoking trademark rights would prevent them from calling it "SCO Linux", they could simply rename it. Trademark rights have nothing to do with copyright. They are two distinct IP areas of law.
Marking this as funny only helps show the ignorance of some of the people modding around here.
Breach of contract is breaking the law. Not criminal law, but civil law. And with the authority question, you're getting into agency issues. The problem is when the source is STILL sitting on their VERY PUBLIC FTP server, it's hard to say that the people in charge didn't know about it.
My journal has hot
Oh yeah, let's not forget that by not following the GPL, they are violating *copyright* law as well, which has recently been criminalized. So strike what I just said about not being a violation of criminal law.
My journal has hot
I really don't think that SCO's ownership of copyrights will have much of an effect on Linux. Once we know what, if any, sections of code are in violation of SCO copyrights then we re-write the code to eliminate the infringement. This will have the added benefit of putting SCO in a position in which they will not benefit from their actions. Don't let SCO's bluster scare anyone into making any premature moves with regard whether or not to use Linux, keep using it, etc. With the speed the Open Source/Free SOftware community can react I would expect any needed code changes to happen quickly.
Just my $.02,
Ron
Impeach Barack Obama for violating the Constitutional requirement to be a "natural born" citizen to hold the office of P
Pertinent passage:
If the copyright holder is the Free Software Foundation, please send the report to . Note that the GPL, and other copyleft licenses, are copyright licenses. This means that only the copyright holders are empowered to act against violations. The FSF acts on all GPL violations reported on FSF copyrighted code, and we offer assistance to any other copyright holder who wishes to do the same. But, we cannot act on our own if we do not hold copyright. Thus, be sure to find out who the copyright holders of the software are before reporting a violation.
Please help metamoderate.
"SCO needs to openly show this code before anyone can assess their claim," IBM spokeswoman Trink Guarino said. The company has said in the past that the suit is baseless.
Regarding SCO's decision to offer a license to users of Linux -- the open-source software that can be copied and modified freely -- Guarino said, "SCO seems to be asking customers to pay for a license based on allegations and not facts."
http://biz.yahoo.com/rc/030721/tech_sco_4.html
"You're gonna need a bigger boat." - Chief Brody
The situation where one company holds another hostage by claiming infringement without every putting up any evidence is not new. To address it, we have declarative judgements. The Linux community could and should ask for a declarative judgement on SCO's alleged copyright violations. Then, SCO either has to put up the evidence, or the judge will rule against them.
Registering a copyright for sourcecode amounts to sending in a form with the code and a fee to the copyright office. They datestamp it and file it away. It's not required to register to claim copyright, or even to register at all. Registering just gives the holder some leverage in court, since in the absence of other information, the side with the earlier registration date wins.
So, since they are just filing now, and have a 2003 registration date, I don't see what this has to do with anything at all. All this means is that they are "officially" claiming copyright, id doesn't mean they's been "granted" any rights at all. That's for a court to decide in specific disputes.
IANAL, but I've sent in a number of Copyright Form TX filings in my day, at about $10 each. Big deal.
Again, who said they were? This is only a form of insurance for businesses whose linux plans are substaintial enough that they want protection from future litigation, and is not some new version of 'SCO Linux' that you now have to pay for. How hard is that to understand? Terribly, according to some of these posters.
In other words; a protection racket. Racketeering is illegal, you might know. As is barratry.
SCO has, and are, distributing linux, which means they have accepted the GPL, and so they cannot sue people for using linux, at least up until the version that they distribute, whatever code it may contain. So a "license" from them protects you from.. barratry!
I call RICO.
SCO employee? Check out the bounty
I would assume that you did not watch the 21min interview with McBride. He put the problems into three buckets, first was the line by line infringements, then there was the derived works problems and then finally the "re-implementation" of System V ideas. He concentrated on the first two since the last one would be the hardest to prove.
He talked a lot about the SMP code in the 2.4 kernel, a lot. And basically said that if we went after the smaller guys, IE "Red Hat" it would shutdown Linux all together. Which would have the effect of killing most of that OS sector and any chance of them collecting any money if they win.
Also it sounds like they will be making more of there case known in mid-August
It is said that a child learns wisdom from the parent,
but the truly wise parent learns joy from the child
If Linux is using SysV code (which apparently it is)
Where the hell did this come from? And why is it 'apparent'? There has been NO evidence released publically to indicate that any SystemV code is in Linux. ZERO.
So stop spreading crap until a few more facts come out.
I just finished watching the interview and McBride is claiming that the GPL only enforces their claims.....McBride says that the GPL is very clear in stating that there is a difference between donating code and distributing code into Linux kernel. SCO claims that they never 'officially signed away their code' to be used in the linux kernel. He even goes on to say that since there is any proprietary code in the kernel, that the GPL itself is nullified as a valid license for the kernel. Good interview, but McBride still comes off as evasive in some of his responses. (I guess that shouldn't surprise me) This is going to be a major test for the GPL. I'm getting frustrated that we haven't heard more from IBM.
it's up to the people being sued for non-compliance to prove that SCO is wrong
Absolutely incorrect. The burden of proof lies on SCO, not on the Linux community.
And speaking of lies, do you mind not spreading bullshit? Your posts under this article are all groundless until more evidence comes out.
I believe the term for SCO's actions is "barratry".
In fact, SCO has never owned UNIX or the definition of what a UNIX system is. From the OSI Position Paper on the SCO-vs.-IBM Complaint:
From http://opengroup.org/:
The Open Group owns UNIX. SCO just owns the copyright on some old source code that *implements* UNIX and nobody could care less. Furthermore
Trusted Computing FAQ | Free Dawit Isaak!
There has been a lot of anger expressed throughout all of the SCO threads of late, most with venom bordering on violence. Keep this advice in mind, however, as you discuss this issue.
If you are a Linux kernel developer, explore your legal options. With SCO's market cap soaring near $175MUSD, there are a few attorney's who might consider contingency representation. If you want to file a class action suit, file it in Madison County, Illinois.
As for your personal comments, keep in mind that Slashdot cannot stop SCO from supoenaing their user records for discovery should you ever decide to sue. If so, be prepared to be REALLY pissed off when you are deposed. They will imply you've been engaging in copyright theft in an attempt to get an emotional response that they can drag out in court against you. I've been deposed; it an emotional roller-coaster.
Remain calm. That is your best strategy. Do not rise to their bait. Refrain from name calling or empty threats. If you truly believe you have been harmed by SCO's actions, then take your case to court or hold off until the IBM/SCO dust settles. Your shouting about the GPL and making threats to tear Darl's nuts off and feed them to him will do nothing but harm to you and any potential case you may have.
"Rocky Rococo, at your cervix!"
I'm not a great shorthand guy, so everybody below will be speaking with weird clipped diction. I'll post my summary and opinions in a followup note. Also, the lameness filter doesn't like my writing style ("too few characters per line") so there is some crap at the end to compensate.
... you can't do anything until IBM case is resolved, right?
... today's announcement ... is a new front. Boies: There would possibility of case-by-case litigation. It is not necessary to resolve the IBM case [first].
... very stark ... that type of code comes from various vendors, primarily other than IBM. #2: SMP, high-end technology, NUMA, RCU. In the early days of Linux, Linux supported 2-4 processors. Now with Linux 2.4, 16-32 processors. Hundreds of *files* were contributed by our vendors. #3: methods and concepts. ... With respect to pricing ... benchmarked on UnixWare 7.1.3.
... how are you going to make them stick?
... software flows from Torvalds to distributors to hardware vendors to end user." "It starts with the end user."
...
12:07 Blake Stowell
Speakers today will be David Boies, Darl McBride, Chris Sontag.
12:08 Darl McBride
In May 2003, we warned Fortune 1500 companies. Enterprise use of Linux 2.4 violates SCO's copyrights and contract rights. Hundreds of files were taken from System 5, or from derived works, or have the same structure, sequence, and organization. Linux would have little multiprocessor capability without our IP. SCO has registered its copyrights. Linux vendors are selling a product with no IP warranty. By not providing a warranty, IBM has profited from Linux, but shifted risk to customers. We intend to use our IP rights carefully and judiciously. SCO is prepared to offer a license for Unixware 7.1.3 to Linux customers.
12:13 Question and Answer
Question #1 Dan Gordon, Bloomberg News
Question: You say Linux violates SCO copyrights. What has changed from contract rights to copyrights?
McBride: This started off as a contract case. With respect to copyright, this is new as of today. What is new today is the copyright registration.
Question #2 Peter Galway, e-week magazine
Question: If enterprise customers don't buy in
McBride: The IBM case is a contract issue
Question #3 Dean Takahashi, San Jose Mercury NEws
Question: Can you more completely describe the offending code and its origins?
Question: [how much will this cost end users?]
McBride: Three types: #1, line by line copying, including developer comments and errors
Question #4 Don Marti, Linux Journal
Question: Ian Lance Taylor says that the code he saw in Unixware and Linux, he saw in other places too, on the Internet.
McBride: A lot of this code is not questionable. IBM RCU code, from Dynix. We're not talking about BSD code. We're talking about high end SMP code.
Question #5 Todd Weiss, ComputerWorld
Question: What was the name of the license?
McBride: SCO UnixWare 7.1.3.
Question #6 Richard Waters, Financial Times
Question: What penalties can you impose
Boies: The copyright laws provide a wide range of penalties. Statutory damages, actual damages, extra damages for willful violations.
Question #7 Robert Mina, Copper Beach Capital
Question: What are the implications for Linux distributors such as Red Hat?
McBride: "Complicated
Question: What about contributory infringement?
No reply at all.
Question #8 David Bark, Wall Street Journal
Question: More about copyright registration date
McBride: We typically register on enforcement.
Boies: Registration is a precedent in bringing a lawsuit.
Copyrightable material was not filed until need for enforcement.
Question #9 Wilstang Gruner
bzzt try again. They're chicken *mc*nuggets.
I'm hardly an expert, but RICO is sufficiently broad in its scope (the Feds made it that way on purpose) that it could probably be used against SCO. From this article (http://law.about.com/library/weekly/aa042202a.htm ) about RICO and priests,
"Just exactly how does the RICO statute work? RICO requires that an "enterprise" be shown to exist. "Enterprise" is broadly defined to mean "any individual, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity, and any union or group of individuals associated in fact although not a legal entity." The broad definition was thought necessary to address the great variety of informal organized crime organizations and the control organized crime has over legitimate businesses.
"For RICO to apply, the enterprise must be shown to have engaged in a "pattern of racketeering activity," which means that one must show at least two "acts of racketeering activity" over a period of ten years. An "act of racketeering activity" consists of one of a lengthy list of state and federal crimes. Note that the statute does not require conviction of an "act of racketeering activity" but only that the act have been committed.
"The list of "acts of racketeering activity" includes crimes normally associated with organized crime such as murder, kidnaping, gambling, arson, robbery, bribery, extortion, and dealing in obscenity or drugs. However, the list also includes numerous, less heinous crimes. Well into the list one finds mail fraud and wire fraud. These statutes make it a criminal offense to use the mails or electronic communications in the commission of a crime.
"When all the pieces are assembled, one can press a RICO claim by showing that a conspiracy existed among individuals or other organizations during which two telephone calls in furtherance of the conspiracy were made in ten years."
OTOH, IANAL, so who knows?
"I might have made a tactical error in not going to a physician for 20 years." -- Warren Zevon
Bzzt. Chickens don't have nuggets.
And Scottish chickens don't have McNuggets...
MrM
Karma? We don' need no steenkeeng karma!
So, what they are doing is just more fud.
They've not been assigned anything yet, so don't get your knickers in a twist!
Even if they eventually get the copyright for SysV code, it doesn't matter (see my prior post on this).
Yes, Ashcroft was AG for two terms. Also guv'ner from 1984 to 1993. Now, in the immortal words of ZZTop, "he's nationwide."
Jay Nixon is the current Attorney General of Missouri.
"I might have made a tactical error in not going to a physician for 20 years." -- Warren Zevon
Looking at the GPL, it sounds like the end users are still safe, unless they try to pass it along and make their customers pay. The GPL states that, even if the software is distributed in violation of the GPL, the software itself remains free, and the end users regain all of the rights the original author put on the software. The only one guilty of violating the contract is the distributor (in this case, SCO) who violated the terms. So, this will open SCO to being liable for distributing software that they do not have rights to, but it still protects the end users.
Your Servant, B. Baggins
The biggest problem with the Kernel guys redoing it, is now they can be considered 'tainted'
That's not true.
Remember: this is not a PATENT issue, but a COPYRIGHT issue. Copyright protects only the actual "creative work," not the ideas it contains. Otherwise it would be illegal for newspapers publish film or book reviews, as they give away ideas contained in the movie or novel.
True story: Back in the day, I worked on UnixWare for Novell, having been assimilated from USL. At one point I had a meeting with a bunch of old-guard Novell engineering managers to discuss companywide process issues. One of those managers asked me, "UnixWare? Does that run under Unix?"
And anyone wonders how it is that all these Utah companies, cross-pollinated with the same people over decades, so handily ran UnixWare into the ground, despite it being (IMO) a solid and feature-rich OS. A lot of the time we felt like we were working for Xerox.
You do realize that the bulk of SCO's stockholders are professional money managers, right?
The popularity of the day trader occupation faded out about, oh, two years ago.
If as many people as possible go onto stock boards, and post their negative feelings about SCO, and their own speculations as to what the outcome of the battle with IBM will be, Buyers will begin to flee from the stock.
Do you really think that will work?
T. Carl MoneyManager: Hm, the expected value of SCO's stock, given current P/E ratios, recent developments, and our analysts' recommendations marks SCO stock as a Buy/Hold. However, LUNIXLOVER111@HOTMAIL.COM claimed "Haha, $CO suxxx0rs, Linux owns!!" on a free market message board. OK, SELL it ALL!!! short it, even!!
It would be also well to do if you indicate that your company will NEVER purchase, license, or other wise enter into a business agreement with SCO, as you feel that their products (specifically name them) are of low quality and should not be used in production environments.
Right. I believe you.
Akamai served content for companies/sites like CNN.com, Microsoft, the Federal Government - to include the Whitehouse, FBI, etc., and many, many others, and as many of you may have noticed, often when you retrive web content, you'll see a URL pop up in the browser status bar saying xxx.akamai.com or some such.
Now, let's do a little math. Since I left Akamai, I understand they've increased the number of servers to greater than 12,000. So, we'll be conservative and estimate 80% of 12,000 are Linux, giving 9,600 Linux servers. Remember, we're talking servers and not desktops - they have many more systems internally that are Linux (I had 3 in my office while I was there, and many in my group had at least two).
9,600 * $1,500 =
- $14,400,000
Now add the desktop systems to that. I don't see Akamai paying out that kind of cash, especially given their stock prices since 2001, and since they have contributed to kernel development themselves.Akamai is just one company that relies upon Linux for their business. There are many others (despite what some reports would lead people to believe), and I venture that if there weren't that many, SCO would not be pulling this crap. Akamai also uses IBM Linux servers for (possibly) one of the largest distributed database systems in the world (unless they shut it down - we were building it while I was there and there was a big press release). I would imagine that this will/has pissed off IBM, Akamai, and others and SCO has just not only shot themselves in the foot, but shoved the shotgun barrel into their collective mouths.
I myself will never, every pay the extortionists at SCO a penny for my use of Linus and others (including my own) hard work in the Linux kernel.
However, let me finish by saying that I'm quite sure IBM, Akamai, and others are quite aware of what the GPL says and how to interpret it in a court of law. IBM has a crack law team, and Akamai's are no slouches either. IBM has money to spare on legal fees, do you think SCO has money to spare for even a new company car? Even if Linux has SCO copyrighted code in it - and many Linux developers have stated it does not - they did release that code under the GPL. Therefore, it seems to me the question - if SCO copyrighted code is in Linux - is how the GPL applies. From reading the GPL myself several times (since I too have developed GPL code for various projects), I'd have to refer back to a previous paragraph and a sentence therein about SCO and a shotgun barrel.
PGA
(Spell checker?! What's that?)
My company contacted SCO this morning to get some license, I don't know how many, probably a lot.
their claims to rights over linux because of that is another story
As someone has already stated, they cannot claim that a rewrite of the kernel would be tainted. They have been given a copyright for the SVR4 code which covers the expression of a concept not the concept itself. So what if someone were to rewrite the sections of the Linux kernel that SCO claims are copied from SVR4? Take two kernel programmers. One writes an spec of the functionality of the code in question. S/he hands it off to the second programmer who implements new code based on that spec. Hell, have a laywer from the FSF at the second programmer's side when it's written and stamp it with an FSF copyright notice as soon as the last semicolon is entered. Since they've been granted a copyright and not a patent, SCO cannot protest that.
Personally, I do not see how SCO can pull this off anyway. They have refused to point out where the alleged copyright violation has taken place -- making it impossible for kernel developers to make the kernel code non-infringing -- and have yet to prove that they are the authors of the code in question (what if they were just granted a copyright on code that can be demonstrated to have originated in BSD Unix?). IBM or someone else with the legal fees available ought to be able to fight this with one hand tied behind their back. A judge should find it easy to force SCO to divulge exactly what lines are in dispute and require SCO to prove that they own those lines. I can claim all day long that some code belongs to me and attempt to charge a license fee for its use. Trouble is that I'd have to prove ownership. I don't think SCO has really done that. I think this would be similar to a company pushing a patent through the process in the face of tons of prior art and then suing everyone in sight. That wouldn't be allowed to go on for long. (Or would it? This is the US legal system after all.) Getting the BSD v.ATT results opened up should go a long way to resolving this dispute. This hasn't seen minute one of real court time yet SCO's acting as though they've already beaten IBM in court. Upon losing the case, SCO would likely wind up having to refund the license fees anyway. That is, if they have any assets left.
Heck, this is pure stock pump-up and nothing more (SCOX's stock price went up today and volumes are more than double the normal.) They hadn't released any new FUD in several weeks. Guess it was time.
Hey! Who's for getting some high profile advocates to claim that SCO has pirated BSD code? If they can spread FUD, why can't the open source community? Think SCO can take on a multi-front legal defense while they're on a FUD offensive?
(caveat: IANAL and all that)
CUR ALLOC 20195.....5804M
(note: The above is taken verbatim from the US Copyright Office online record database)
So... either SCO only copyrighted 20 pages of code, or you don't need to deposit the whole work with the CO in order to have it copyrighted. Unless the '(20 p.)' above means something entirely different...
Interesting, all the same.
I seem to remember reading that in any kind of civil action like this, the plaintiff has a duty to actively mitigate his damages to the maximum extent possible
In legalese, this is known as the "doctrine of laches" - and you're 100% correct (I've brought this point up a couple of times in the past.)
Basically, this is proof that SCO's charges are 100% groundless.. as they refuse to tell anyone what the alleged code is, they are delaring that the value of the code is $0. So the absolute best case scenario for them (assuming they win 100% on all counts) is that Linus is told what lines need to be removed, and is given a year to remove/rewrite them.
There is no motivation for them to keep the alleged code "secret", because it means even if they win, then they lose.
www.sfmuseum.org/hist1/norton.html
All SCO has done so far is talk a lot.
In Germany, that got them into trouble.
SCO can sell any "license" they can get idiots to buy. Whether such is worth anything depends upon the outcome of the court case. SCO can claim that they own anything and everything.
It all comes down to whether the court will support their claim when they try to get money from someone for selling or licensing what SCO claims they own.
Until that point, they're just like Norton.
Sontag didn't speak at all.
...
... Canopy is betting SCO Group, and if they lose, they have other companies. They'll just buy some more IP and continue their long-time campaign of IP litigation. It worked for Caldera International + DR-DOS (which they bought) and they are trying again with SCO Group + Unix (which they bought).
... that's what matters. That's what SCO Group gets paid for.
Boies spoke a little, but mostly basic stuff. Such as: a copyright owner doesn't have to register the copyright until it's time to file a lawsuit.
McBride's main points are:
SCO registered the copyrights from Novell. This gives them a lot more legal ammunition. Before, this was just a contract dispute from IBM. Now, they are opening up another "front" (he used that word) -- everyone who runs Linux is infringing. They can go after people who run Linux, not just people that SCO has pre-existing contracts with.
It's all about enterprise, SMP, RCU, and so on. It's about Linux kernel 2.4, not linux kernel 2.2.
SCO is not interested in pursuing individual home Linux users at this time. They are very interested in pursuing enterprise SMP users. They are not pursuing source code distributors such as Red Hat at this time.
SCO's proposition is: buy a license for UnixWare 7.1.3, and it comes with a covenant from SCO that they won't sue you if you run Linux. They are currently in negotiations with many many companies to sell these licenses. These licenses are run-time binary licenses.
There was complicated discussion in Question #13, Jonathan Collins, VNU, about the GNU Project and the GPL. I would appreciate if anyone could post a word-for-word transcript for that. The part I got was Boies saying that the UnixWare license "... does not provide protection for people who touch the source code." and McBride said "right".
McBride said that the literal copying, which they've been exhibiting, came mostly from Unix vendors other than IBM.
McBride sees SCO as the rightful owner of the "Unix on Intel" market. His position is that Linux usurped that position by offering "Unix on Intel for free", and that Linux did so illegally by copying code from Unix.
My take on all this
Remember that SCO makes a lot of money from their SCO Source program (funded by Microsoft and Sun). It accounts for 40% of their revenus and ALL of their profit. In fact, the only profit that SCO has made in their entire corporate history comes from this program. They don't have to win the lawsuit, they just have to throw enough mud at Linux so that Microsoft and Sun will keep cutting them checks.
Also, SCO is not really an independent company. Canopy Group controls SCO. Canopy chose the legal strategy and the lawyers for this initiative. So it's not like SCO is betting the company
(Hey, remember Jeff Merkey and the Timpanogas Research Group, which was developing NTFS and Netware-related software for Linux? Guess who bought them out? Canopy Group.)
This time around, Canopy isn't going for a pure legal strategy. Legally, their case has big holes in it, such as their distribution of the Linux kernel source after they had actual knowledge of its alleged infringing contents; plus their lack of specific notice to Linux users. Canopy is also going for a strategy of intimidation: buy a $1500 license or we will drag you into the mud.
But most centrally, Canopy is going for a PR campaign. They already took $8 million to the bank from Microsoft and Sun to wage this anti-Linux campaign, and they expect to collect another $5 million this quarter (McBride estimated $8 million on the last quarterly earnings call, but he has revised the number downwards since then). That's why the legalisms don't matter. Whatever convinces your department manager to put Linux on hold and run Windows or Solaris instead
This is why you can buy anthologies of sci-fi, for example. Asimov's or Analog, buys the first printing rights, and an anthologist buys the right to include it in their next anthology, and the author still maintains the right to sell it over and over. Ask any member of the writers' guild, or search back issues of Writers Digest (or read one of Asimov's biographies, where he talks about recycling his material).
The rules are that you own the copyright as the words flow from your pen (keyboard, or whatever). To defend your copyright, however, you have to file with the copyright office.
Although you have a copyright, you cannot "use it" until you've filed with the copyright office.
You are wrong. The GPL does not cover use of the program, it covers modification and distribution of the program. In section 0 it is specifically stated that,
No one can ever be liable for a GPL violation merely by using the software.
Snarkiness is inversely proportional to wisdom because it emphasizes feeling right rather than being right.
Yes, they imported the IP stack implementation from BSD, therefore promoting the countersuit that caused the whole thing to be resolved. USL didn't want to lose the IP stack (as what was becoming known as "The Internet" was being built on it), and Ray Noorda from Novell can be looked at as the "good guy" in all this. Sometimes during the battle Novell bought USL and Ray Noorda handed down an edict telling them to settle.
Kirk McKusick has a lot to say about this is in the section "Twenty Years of Berkeley UNIX, From AT&T Owned to Freely Redistributable" in Chris DiBona's Compilation Open Sources.
FreeBSD The Power to Serve
It's just another case of /. getting the headline wrong. Mind you, the original story on Yahoo also fucked up.
What all this actually indicates is that their case doesn't hold much^H^H^Hany water, b/c they have to do more fud, smoke and mirrors.
....there isn't much insider buying happening with SCOX, especially now that we know the company stands to make billions.
It's like a stock analyst once told me: An insider sale can mean anything -- low confidence, a new pool in the backyard, college tuition for the kids. A buy means only one thing -- somebody on the inside sees the company doing well over the long haul.
Here, is where I think SCOs major flaw in their argument is, the GPL circa Jan 28, 1999 explicitly states in its preamble:
. org/copyleft/gpl.html
...
To protect your rights, we need to make restrictions that forbid anyone to deny you these rights or to ask you to surrender the rights. These restrictions translate to certain responsibilities for you if you distribute copies of the software, or if you modify it.
For example, if you distribute copies of such a program, whether gratis or for a fee, you must give the recipients all the rights that you have. You must make sure that they, too, receive or can get the source code. And you must show them these terms so they know their rights.
Refer to way back machine: http://web.archive.org/web/19990128195748/www.gnu
And seeing as how SCO has been distributing Linux which had their code in the kernel. They have thusly, knowingly or not, distributed their rights, to the GPLd code in question, to the public. Because, of the statement above. Or if you want to hear it straight from GNU's statement:
Moreover, there are straightforward legal reasons why SCO's assertions concerning claims against the kernel or other free software are likely to fail. As to its trade secret claims, which are the only claims actually made in the lawsuit against IBM, there remains the simple fact that SCO has for years distributed copies of the kernel, Linux, as part of GNU/Linux free software systems. Those systems were distributed by SCO in full compliance with GPL, and therefore included complete source code. So SCO itself has continuously published, as part of its regular business, the material which it claims includes its trade secrets. There is simply no legal basis on which SCO can claim trade secret liability in others for material it widely and commercially published itself under a license that specifically permitted unrestricted copying and distribution.
...
Occam's razor is the blind faith in the natural selection of least resistance and in universal oversimplification. -- EF
Since they are required to deposit the first 25 and last 25 pages (50, and they only deposited 20 pages in total, and one of them has to be the copyright notice page, that means they deposited their code in its' entirety.
So now we're down to 19 pages, of which how much is comments, white space, etc?
It's just a "modification to Unix SysV release 4.1 ES". Doesn't seem to be something important enough to get on the front page of google news, and certainly not something Linux users need to pay attention to.
You can't just post fictional FUD, you need to build a case that SCO's current profit model as an illusion that will evaporate once the court rules they hav no case. People should understand that buying SCO stock is a really risky bet which will most likely fail.
I have an idea that might wake the corporate world up to what the Open Source world is capable of.
.. the source.
51% of SCO is around 6.5 million shares. Shares are selling at around $11 a peice.
Lets say we get a million open source coders and supporters to buy 7 shares each. Thats an investment of less than $100 per person.
We take our voting majority, and run SCO promptly into the ground - eating that $77 loss per person.
And we do so loudly. We make it known before we begin that SCO has messed with something it shouldnt have, and now they'll observe the true power of the force.. err
Though, someone a little more prominent has to call for this. If Linus did it, we might accually pull it off.
.
- Title page
- First 25 pages of code
- Last 25 pages of code
You can, of course submit more... but you can't submit less, unless your whole thing is smaller - which in this case it is, at only 20 pages total. It's not a copyright on Unix Sys5, but on some mods they made.The whole thing is similar to the jokes we see here all the time about copyrighting "Hello, world!". If you look in your manuals, you'll see that they are all copyrighted, and many of them contain the source to "Hello, world!". So, in one sense, it's copyrighted.
Does that mean you can't use it? Of course not :-) Which is why I find this whole SCO thing stupid, on SCO's part :-)