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OSDL Pays For Linus Torvalds' SCO Defense
geoff313 writes "
For all of you who might be worried about what financial consequences
Linus Torvalds might have to endure as a result of being subpoenaed by SCO, fear not: the Open Source Development Lab (OSDL)
will pay for its law firm to represent him.
the OSDL, who are Torvalds' employer, will announce on Friday that the
"OSDL has agreed to fund legal representation for Torvalds and any
other employees of the lab who may become involved in the litigation."
Just in case you didn't you didn't know, the OSDL is funded by a
variety of corporations including (but not limitied to) IBM, Hewlett-Packard,
Dell, Sun
Microsystems, Red Hat, Cisco, Computer
Associates, Fujitsu, Hitachi, and Nokia. "
McBride is what is known in the poker world as a fish.
Which is to SCO's great misfortune because penguins literally eat fish for breakfast.
And Torvalds is the biggest, baddest penguin out there. One might even call him The Omega Penguin. The king of all penguins, indeed, of all penguin-kind. Their lord. The single template from which all other penguins were wrought.
I'm just sorry they're not selling tickets for this one.
Is this truly the only Earth I can live on?
maybe all you people spending all your time posting should put money where mouths are? taking it from torvalds firm simply robs peter to pay paul and equally weakens open source movement. Contribute your money, as if it were code.
>>>Just in case you didn't you didn't know, the OSDL is funded by a variety of corporations including (but not limitied to) IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Sun Microsystems, Red Hat, Cisco, Computer Associates, Fujitsu, Hitachi, and Nokia. "
Just in case that was someone hiding beneath a rock, SCO is funded by Microsoft.
Yep, I never spell check.
More incorrect spellings can be found he
to see that there are occasions where companies don't automatically run the rule over individuals. Granted, this is Linus, and the companies involved have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo, but it's still refreshing to see :-)
:-). BAD sco, BAD sco...
And, of course, it's less leg for SCO to stand on (I'm guessing they'd have to have been a millipede at this rate
Simon.
Physicists get Hadrons!
Yah cause i was having trouble sleeping at night thinking of where Linus was going to get money from.
Never touch an Irish man's Guinness!@#
This is great news, but I'm sure the community would have supported a defense fund for him if they hadn't.
Do you really need a lawyer for a subpoena? Even if Linus was a US citizen, he's not being investigated or anything. Just answer a few stupid questions from SCO, and you're scot free.
I've got good money on SCO suing OSDL within the next week for "blatant copyright violations and big meanie stupid poo faces"
It's not stupid. It's advanced.
Since when has anyone really been worried about Linus? There was probably a line of people bidding to represent him. With his cool headed demeanor and knowledge, lawyers would drool over helping him to shoot down SCO.
Linus, your allright man. There are thousands of people who have got your back. Keep on hacking.
So, they try to pinch Linux where it hurts by going after the "little punks" who made it. I mean, what could some passive, nerdy, computer programmers have as a possible means of defense?
And so now, SCO stands in the middle of a jungle clearing, waving a stick and raving madly at the 800-pound gorilla of IBM. Suddenly, a rustle from the brush and SCO turns around to see a whole pack of 800-pound gorillas, all staring with steely eyes....
...
I would like to know if the OSDL will pay to have their lawyers develop a version of a GPL that forbids downloading/use/repackaging of a software package by any computer that has ever had a SCO OS within 1km of it.
That's just about what I want for my next Open Source software release.
It looks like there won't be enough of SCO left for the vultures in Utah desert to fight over.
Too bad SCO wasn't part of the OSDL. Would have been funny to see them have to pay for his defense up front, even though we know they'll pay for it in the end anyway, unless bankruptcy get them first!
(Stolen sig) Remember: it's a "Microsoft virus", not an "email virus", a "Microsoft worm", not a "computer worm
I thought Linus was being subpoenaed. A subpoena is issued to force a witness to testify; why would Linus need to be defended against this?
Anybody know what kind of moneys will be shelled out to protect Linus? Hopefully its more than what SCO has in the bank.
This is a test. This is a test of the emergency sig system. This has been only a test.
FWIW, you might want to read Motley Fool's Tom Taulli's take on this. th3m0nk
-- The Hollow Man
Non illegitimati carborundum
No it's not.
defense? The idea that OSDL or anyone else has to pay to defend themselves against a company that's gasping for air with some wild claims is wrong. What costs can be recovered once SCO is shown to be insignificant and wrong? All attorney's fees, travel fees, dining, babysitting, lost wages??
http://tinyurl.com/3t236
ehm no? The members. So unless Microsoft has some special hidden member status I very much doubt it. Sure joining your enemies to fight them from the inside is a smart move but this one nobody would fall for.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
you noticed that but you didn't notice the
Just in case you didn't you didn't know, the OSDL is funded
let me highlight it more for you
you didn't you didn't know
Tom.
Oh arse
OSDL is an organization, but also try to keep in mind what the ODSLabs are.
Have they succeeded in subpoenoing (sp?) Torvalds or have they just issued a request to have him subpoened that a judge may deny? Isn't that how it works or do they just get to subpoena anyone they want?
Also another question to the legal wise out there. There is little doubt in my mind Microsoft funding and incentive is pulling the strings behind SCO. Isn't this extremely illegal for them to do based on the ruling of the previous judgements? Obviously they get out of a lot of legal holes by using SCO as a proxy attacker of Linux but it is nonetheless doing this for reasons of destroying a competitor.
You're right about Taco being inconsistent, but in the British vernacular (encompassing not just the British Isles, but also such far-flung places as Australia and South Africa), it's neither stilted nor unpopular. That's just how they say it. Americans say that the committee meets, the British say that the committee meet.
The difference between British and American English is mostly just a matter of pronunciation and vocabulary, but this is one of the few truly grammatical differences.
Always keep a sapphire in your mind
"Sanity is not statistical", George Orwell, "1984"
This is a great development. It demonstrates the Open Source communities Strength to come together and defend its code as an entity. Considering how many thousands? hundred of thousands? millions? of people are involved in the Open Source community actions like this make the community look very 'organized' despite the fact of geographical, racial and culural differences. SCO will be hard pressed to claim the community is 'un-organized' with actions like these.
As well I think its safe to say had this not happened in such a quick fashion the community would have supported his legal defence.
People will fund entities who stand for their own views. - Me - Now
No, this is
Very cool! See what happens when people, industry and innovators cooperate? They tell bullies like SCO to piss off!
There exists no way of exchanging information without making judgments. --Bene Gesserit Axiom
I know, our contributions wouldn't make a monetary difference, but they would surely make us feel nice, along with putting some pressure on SCO :-)
unfinished: (adj.)
Didn't OSDN also get subpoenaed? Didn't IBM also get subpoenaed? Didn't one or more of the other funders of OSDN get subpoenaed?
IS OSDN picking Linus' lawyer(s)?
Huge conflict of interest, even if the lawyers won't admit to it in their salivation over the impending legal fees.
Linus, if you're reading this, you need to take the legal funding offered by OSDN, and find your own lawyer, one that hasn't done work for IBM or SCO (or SCO's principals) in the past, and one that doesn't expect to. At a minimum. Then have them put it in writing. Then have them check their records for others they may have done work for that are involved in this annoyance.
This is a big conflict of interest, yet the lawyers will do all kinds of twists and contortions to try and minimize any conflicts of interest.
OSDN funding legal fees is great. As long as it is for your benefit, and not for their benefit to your detriment.
Don't make a serious mistake at this juncture. What's said on the outside doesn't matter. What makes it into court (or doesn't make it in) is all that matters. And what makes it, or doesn't make it is what can save your skin, or skin you alive at a later date.
(Of course, my second throught was that if I were in his shoes, I'd want to talk to a lawyer about it.)
Not being a lawyer, one question -- is SCO (or the court?) obligated to at least pay for Linus's expenses in answering this subpoena? (Not that it matters, because Linus is popular enough that he won't have to pay a cent, and RMS is probably covered too, but the next guy might not be so lucky.)
And here you go
See? was that so hard?
In the future, I would want to not be isolated from my friends in the Space Station.
To support Linux, coders contribute code, and get... code in return!
Corporations (IBM, RedHat, Sun, etc.) contribute dollars and guess what they get for their support of Linux?
These corps. have a lot invested in Linux (and will continue to do so), simply because they stand to make boatloads of money using and growing it. It's in their interests to fight SCO.
There exists no way of exchanging information without making judgments. --Bene Gesserit Axiom
I for one welcome our new penguin overlord! --- This sig is fake to help kill 20 seconds --- And so is this one.
I have a Cig, but do you have a light?
Seeing the clothe they wear, they probably play at the $20,000 tables!
Unfortunately, in this case, it's clear that the SCO strategy is to draw out litigation long enough to give everybody an uncomfortable feeling in their rectal areas, until somebody snaps and decides to make a favorable acquisition offer. And if SCO loses, good luck getting a dime out of them, they'll fold the shop up in a way that lets them get out of everything, I'm quite sure, and still make off with a lot of money. This is definitely one of these cases where the malfeasance of corporate officers and attorneys is so blatant, I'd like to see the corporate veil pierced and have personal liability passed on to these fuckers for the financial losses and damaged reputations they have incurred on lots of other legitimate, hardworking people and companies.
And probably linked to the american's bizarre hallucinations of personhood for corporations.
Perhaps if more americans realised that corporations and other organisations were collections of people, the world would be a better place.
>> Yes, but do penguins also play poker
Duh!
IIRC ignoring a subpoena is a contempt of court.
I would think that there is a better principle for which Linus etc can stand and that is to use all these lawyers lining up to pro bono them (ooh er vicar) to defend them against completely ignoring these specious subpoena's and fighting the for the fact that they should never have been issued in the first place.
The act of issuing the subpoena in the way that SCO has is verging on vexatious and the problem is that when they get slaughtered, and they will, there will be nothing left on the corpse by which to compensate those who have suffered a loss as a result of all this bollox. Like those forced to deal with being subpoenaed to appear (or at least give evidence) before the court.
There are certain times when a judicious amount of contempt of court is important to correct the largess of the litigious.
"The first thing to do when you find yourself in a hole is stop digging."
I am sick and tired of gorillas being accused of being evil thuggish creatures. Gorillas are friendly and do not attack humans. Don't liken the friendly gorillas to a pack of bloodthirsty IBM lawyers.
It would be far more surprising, and hence news-worthy, if either OSDL or TransMeta did not pay for Linus' lawyer.
they're called the Editors.
sulli
RTFJ.
If you've called them as a witness, you're responsible for their travel expenses and per diem.
SCO was among those companies paying for Linus' defence. That would be sweet!
I hope when Linus enters they either play the Ride of The Valkyries or Darth Vaders theme song so that SCO gets the full effect of the wrath they bring upon themselves.
This is my sig. There are many like it but this one is mine.
"There are only two investors in this deal: BayStar Capital and the Royal Bank of Canada."
Baystar's own website claims Paul Allen, Microsoft, etc. in their list of top ten investors. IIRC, four of the top ten were Microsoft or close friends of Microsoft.
-- MarkusQ
while there seems to an outpouring of support for Linus, the idea of contributing to a defense fund would actually hurt him. As opposed to RMs, who as an idealist and catalyst of social change makes his way through life via his supporters, Linus "works" for a living. Having OSDL and the various companies that support it come to his support gives the man, and therefore his product, an air of legitimacy that would not be had if his defense was being funded by OSS supporters. In this case, both methods of paying for their defense works, as RMS is supported by the people and Linus is not (from a monetary POV people).
Secondly is the screaming by those asking why the hell he needs a defense. In the case of both RMS and Linus they both are responsible for the two major things that makes Linux what it is today, free and strongly coded. SCO is attacking both the freedom we have in distributing code and the underlying source of the strength of it's code, ergo it is imperative for them to prove to the court that both of these things are not permissible under the law.
This is not just a test of the GPL and Linux. This is a coordinated attack meant to gauge the underlying strength of the OSS community and those that (corporate and private) that support it. The bet was made with the thought that after a little law action, one of the players would pull out making the house of cards fall.
Oppps.
Now they are faced with something they never thought they would have, the beginnings or a tighter conglomerate of users and corps that are ready and willing to defend our right to code and not have it stolen, and our right to distribute that code without interference from companies hell bent on stealing for a living. I have said before that this is not the last of this ordeal, and I truly thing that we are in for a rough 2 to 4 years here in regards to challenges on the GPL and the community in general, but seeing things like this makes believe even more that good things are all that can come of this.
just a question; why does it mean that he's subpoened... i thought that he was being subpoened as a witness, but now that he needs legal representation, is he being a defendent...
what are they hoping to do subpoening him... and what are they accusing him of...
also generated this slashdot page for theMerovingian (722983).
"If you think you have things under control, you're not going fast enough." --Mario Andretti
And probably linked to the american's bizarre hallucinations of personhood for corporations.
Perhaps if more americans realised that corporations and other organisations were collections of people, the world would be a better place.
Informative? Ah, no. The logic here is that "committee" is a singular noun, as is "corporation."
Perhaps if more Anonymous Cowards realized that political trolling doesn't enter into grammar, Slashdot would be a better place.
I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate.
I'll be surpirsed if Linus even has to show up for a deposition. The judge has got to be getting pretty tired of SCO's stall-o-rama.
That's our life, the big wheel of shit. - The Fat Man, Blue Tango Salvage
"OSDL has agreed to fund legal representation for Torvalds and any other employees of the lab who may become involved in the litigation...the OSDL is funded by a variety of corporations including (but not limitied to) IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Sun Microsystems, Red Hat, Cisco, Computer Associates, Fujitsu, Hitachi, and Nokia. "
Ha, ha. Eww....what did you just step in...
Just in case you didn't you didn't know, the OSDL is funded by a variety of corporations including (but not limitied to) IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Sun Microsystems, Red Hat, Cisco, Computer Associates, Fujitsu, Hitachi, and Nokia.
I really thought SCO was going to be on that list!
Wer mit Ungeheuern kämpft, mag zusehn, dass er nicht dabei zum Ungeheuer wird. --Nietzsche
One day all that old SCO merchandise is going to worth a lot to geeky collectors on eBay.
I'm holding out for a frisbee or baseball cap, myself.
-- clvrmnky
Glad to hear Linus is covered. Who is covering Stallman's legal expenses?
IBM cited a Judge who ruled in a 2001 securities case that fraud allegations "should not be a pretext for the discovery of unknown wrongs". That Judge, sharp-eyed posters of Groklaw have spotted, is the same Hon. Dale A Kimball who will hear the Motion to Strike Affirmative Defenses, to which the filing is addressed.
Your honor, we have heard the courts say that "the fishing idea" is wrong and can not be done. What a brilliant point, excuse me...
Your honor (nice robe!) I had no idea you PERSONALLY said that. Absolutely amazing, poetic so Jeffersonian.
(turning to look at McBride, sticks tongue out and issues official IBM rasberry)
I'm just surprised SCO isn't a member of the OSDL. After all, they're becoming famous for their inability to know what they are doing ("I din't tell you we were issueing subpoena's to certain people because I didn't know we were.").
There's no place like 127.0.0.1
Have you watched REAL tech media lately?
It would be good if someone somewhere would set up a legal defense fund for these folks, one that you and I and other "little" Linux users could easily contribute to.
Linus and Stallman have made my a lot easier, it certainly is worth a click and a donation to make theirs go just a bit smoother.
Since he's not a US citizen why is he even bothering to go?
"Thanks to the remote control I have the attention span of a gerbil."
the British say that the committee meet.
Oh, no we don't !
At least I don't and none of my friends or aquaintances do. But then, we went to Grammar School and don't try to talk like Australian soap stars.
No but, yeah but, no but...
For a minute I thought OSDL stood for "Open Source Defense League."
And Torvalds is the biggest, baddest penguin out there. One might even call him The Omega Penguin.
...the leader is usually called the Alpha male. The other two I've often heard used is Beta for the lead female and Omega as the lowest of the pecking order. So I'd rather suggest The Alpha Penguin instead :)
Kjella
Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
From review of the facts it appears that SCO case has the merits of the green river killers defense in court. However the only thing that has concerned me in this debacle is that SCO's stock price has been nothing but buoyant.
Now this week it looks like the price is beginning to head towards its future target. If the past is any clue I am sure we can expect a McBride public release anytime now.
Hot Sauce and gourmet stuff
Mozilla and Linux customers get 5%
I am with you man, but looks like they didnt like that "they are on crack" thing...
The lunatic is in my head
I feel that I have been moderated unfairly. I'll rephrase just to get my point across.
This article goes to show that it is worth while for companies & organizations to support open source initiatives. These guys have thrown money into the cause, & that says to me that there are financial incentives. So, I think that this is a good thing. Just as some companies are trying to get money while being unjust towards people, some companies are trying to get money while being just towards people.
I understand that there are many different views on money. However, I'm trying to get a point across, & not troll.
Take care...
More like 'Duel of Fates' from SW EP1
While it's entirely Linus's option to have legal representation, shouldn't SCO have to foot the bill for that too? In essence SCO is subpoening Linus as an expert witness.
I'm guessing that SCO will try to spin it that he and IBM somehow cooperated, or at least he was aware or should have been aware or could have been aware, that IBM was "illegally" putting code into Linux. At best, they'll spin it as someone who can't properly control what's in Linux.
Anything Linux answers to those FUD-fishing questions will have great importance, not so much for the merits of the case but for Linus and Linux's reputation as well as SCOs FUD campaign. That's why he should have a lawyer.
Kjella
Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
Open Source Defense League, kinda like the SuperFriends except they don't get along.
'mmmmmmmmm.... forbidden donut'
It looks like the article has been revised! The word "trademark" no longer appears, and the above statement has been replaced with
The lawsuit was bold, alleging violations of trade secrets and copyrights related to a hot market segment, Linux. (emphasis mine)
As I see it, the installer displays the License Agreement. On a normal OS, you get:
"Do you accept this license?"
"Yes" or "No"
On a SCO product, you get:
"Do you accept this license?"
"No" or "Format Hard Drive"
https://secure.eff.org/
They're doing important work.
There is no such word as "truely" in the English language.
Linus will get the opportunity to allege copyright infringement in deposition. In SCO's reality the GPL is invalid, so they are infringing on Linus' copyrights or in the real world, by issuing a separate license for any part of Linux, SCO voids the use of the GPL thus infringing on Linus' copyrights. It's best to have a lawyer available in that circumstance. One who can explain copyright law to SCO's attorneys, as they seem to have some difficulties in that area.
Which is to say that SCO is playing to enrich certain persons. Win or lose, those persons will be rich. If they win, a few more people will be rich, and a great many more people will be poor. If they lose, the same people will be rich, and a few people will be poor.
"She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
I often seen it posted about how the stockholders can/should react for fraud/deciept/whatever. But can normal employees sue the actual executives in civil court in some manner? No matter how this plays out, won't developers with 'SCO' on their resumes essentially be tainted, and possibly avoided by all other Unix/Linux based companies?
Just a thought. Maybe they should unionize and strike - that could certainly throw a wrench into things.
R: That voice. Where have I heard that voice before? B: In about 365 other episodes. But I don't know who it is either.
I will never understand US law, but here in Australia, if you subpeona someone to appear as a witness, then you are obliged to pay them at an hourly rate for their time, as well as pay to put them up in a hotel, receive a decent meal allowance, and provide enough surplus cash for them to go out at night, get roaring drunk, and end up in some stranger's apartment with three table dancers, an overweight german shepard dog, and a pet parrot who keeps saying 'Give us a Beer, Give us a Beer' over and over again.
.. Utah ? .. hmm .. any comments ?)
.. thats not really fair is it ?)
So I cant see how Linus would be financially put out by being subpeoned to appear as a witness.
Actually, when I remember back to my time as a witness in techo/computer related case in the Supreme Court of Queensland (with fond memories indeed), then I can perhaps see why they have called on him - maybe they hope to destroy the quality of kernel code by plying the main players with alcohol and loose women, as is the custom when calling witnesses to the stand in high profile cases ? And there are some totally gorgeous loose women in Brisbane. (Where is this one
Lets hope they dont get him up to the point of being threatened with a contempt of court hearing for arriving late and semi-attired, or for overtly flirting with the stenographer during question time. (Why do they place the witness box in an elevated position so that the witness can see nothing but the exposed cleavage of the stenographer ?
Very interesting...
does that start out with p-qb4 or p-kb4? I can never remember.
He gets more pro bono work by Eben Moglen or something. Eben has been kind enough to do so much already, after all, and...
during the antitrust suit. Delay things until the next regime change.
When Clinton was in power, it looked like MS was going to really get in trouble for once. But they delayed, and delayed, and delayed...
then GWB was elected. All of a sudden, the federal government didn't want Microsoft split up. The judge was replaced. They just wanted a quick and easy settlement. No financial penalties needed. Just promise to be on good behaviour.
Dean wouldn't stand for this shit. He'd kick the case out of court for good.
Hey, are there going to be any protests about this whole fiasco?
The US Army: promoting democracy through unquestioned obedience
"defense? The idea that OSDL or anyone else has to pay to defend themselves against a company that's gasping for air with some wild claims is wrong. What costs can be recovered once SCO is shown to be insignificant and wrong? All attorney's fees, travel fees, dining, babysitting, lost wages??"
There needs to be a "loser pays" provision added to civil lawsuit law. If the loser is the initiator, and is a corporation (individuals should be exempt) they should have to pay ALL such legal expenses.
If the legal action causes the corporation to go bankrupt, persons whom the corp owes legal expenses go to the front of the line, ahead of all other creditors when it comes to claims against assets.
This little poison pill might discourage what Scaldera is doing right now. It also encourages officers, execs, and employees, who's wages, benefits, etc would fall in line BEHIND these claims to discourage such practice.
Corporatism != Free Market
SCO Lawyer: When you said "Darryl is blowing smoke out of his ass", you meant the donkey/horse crossbread, not the other kind, right?
Who would win this election: Andrew Weiner vs Andrew Weiner's weiner.
If they have valid claims lets see them.
Since they have said they were going to show us all several times and haven't no they don't.
They are not interested in getting their side of the story out just pumping up the value of their stock and gettting rich off of others work.
If it's not obvious by now you have been living under a rock
Fuckum' and the horses they rode in on.
If you don't like what I write don't be a CS and mod it down. Refute it.
Yea I can't spell. So what is your point?
No, Linus' real theme song -- as distributed in Red Hat et. al -- would have a much more direct dual purpose:
Hello, this is Linus Torvalds, and I pronounce Linux as "Linux."
Hear for yourself!
..and SCO is naked and covered in fermented sardines.
I think this is even better than the SCO execs-go-to-hardcore-federal-prison outcome - kind of like the scene in the book Jurassic Park where the clueless exec is tranquilized and the devoured by carrion-eating dinosaurs. SCO can fulfill its ultimate purpose - to be food for something more useful than itself.
Subpeoning Linus is one thing, but I bet those SCO lawyers are really going to earn their money deposing RMS. I hope he keeps 'em busy. :-)
No, no they don't.
SCO does not have genuine IP claims on code in Linux.
Not one iota.
Why do I say that?
I have no evidence to suggest that it is try, except SCO's word on it.
Everyone, and their mother, has asked SCO to reveal the evidence.
IBM is getting sued over it, and SCO will not even describe the infringement.
Beyond that, Caldera distributed the code under the GPL.
Read Groklaw, and you'll feel the same way about it.
If SCO had actual evidence of infringement, they would play it up big time.
Why? Because they would be able to easily drive IBM to settle---IBM has no business being in bullheaded lawsuits, they would license any IP that was actually stolen.
Remember, IBM has full access to ALL of SCO's source tree, and IBM has full access to AIX's source, and the Linux source.
IBM already knows what is in all three source trees.
As far as I am concered, SCO is not entitiled to have their side of the argument heard, because they are doing their best to spew BullShit(TM) in order to drive up their stock price.
If SCO want's their side of the argument to be heard, they need to put up, or shutup.....
Show us some code, SCO---Or die!
WhiteWolf666 an exBush supporter. All you new-school,compassionate,save the children Republicans can rot in hell
Doesn't linus drive a BMW and live in a mansion?
I really wouldn't worry about Linus's financial trouble. After all, SCO isn't sueing him. (yet)
"Fighting terrorists with millitary might is like killing a mosquitor on your Dad's forehead with a rifle."
And the BSD license. Let's not forget that. SCO/Caldera distributed the "new" code (SMP, RCU, NUMA, JFS) under the GPL with their SCOLinux 4.0 product. They also advertised those features in their SCOLinux product brochures so they can't claim ignorance that the code was there. However in the SCOForum slides they were not showing "new" code but extremely old code; in fact, code that's nearly 30 years old! This code was released by SCO/Caldera as "Ancient UNIX" under a BSD license.
Also, SCO/Caldera recently listed the files that supposedly infringe their "UNIX methods" (notice the non-specific SCO/Caldera claim). One file listed contains exactly 6 lines, and the only relevant line is the comment which states that there's no support for SMP yet (in the M68000 tree). This proves beyond any reasonable doubt that SCO hasn't taken due diligence in preparing their list. They've grepped the kernel tree for keywords; they haven't made any attempt to distinguish between SCO/Caldera SMP code and independently developed SMP code. SCO/Caldera definitely does not own all implementations of SMP!
SCO is fishing. It's obvious they're fishing. IBM has even accused them of fishing, in writing, in a court document!
Sound familiar?
Ever since the trademark was assigned to Linus in the aftermath of that event, he has not withheld use of the trademarked name Linux from anyone referring to the Open Source OS. However, it is within his rights to do so.
Even SCO's legal disclaimers page acknowledges Linus as the owner the Linux trademark.
I think legal harassment of Open Source volunteers is a valid criteria to revoke permissions to use the Linux trademark.
I think it's nice... The entire computer industry is bonding over the mutual hate for SCO.
VENI, VIDI, VICI, DIXI
I don't see any reason to exempt individuals. When people file baseless lawsuits against corporations, the costs will ultimately be passed on to the consumer. McDonalds is spending a lot of money defending themselves from baseless obesity lawsuits. Restaurants as a whole will be paying higher liability insurance costs to cover defense of these suits.
When a judge dismisses a case, he/she basically says that the case is so lacking in evidence that even if everything that the plantiff says could be proven true, they still don't have a case and should not have ever filed the suit. For this reason, going to a 'loser pays' system will not harm anyone with a valid reason for a lawsuit. There is no reason why the plantiff (and possibly their attorney) should not have to reimburse the defendant for abuse of the court system.