SCO Gives Notice To 6,000 Unix Licensees

inode_buddha writes "This article describes SCO's recent letters to its UNIX licensees, asking them to certify that they '...are not using Unix code in Linux.' It also notes another set of letters '...outlining additional evidence of copyright infringement to a subset of 1,500 global Linux users that SCO first contacted in May about copyright infringement.' There's also a decent breakdown of the company's balance sheet and some quotes from company officials. I hope to see one of those 'other' letters; could anyone post it? SCO better have asbestos underwear." Ask and receive: idiotnot adds "Here's the article from the Sydney Morning Herald. Here is a PDF Copy of the letter." "Yours truly"?

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Article Text

[Killjoy_NL]

The SCO Group has begun sending written notices to its 6,000 Unix licensees requiring them to certify that they are in full compliance with their Unix source code agreements and are not using Unix code in Linux.

In addition, SCO said it is sending a second set of letters outlining additional evidence of copyright infringement to a subset of 1,500 global Linux users that SCO first contacted in May about copyright infringement. The company predicted that it could spend up to $16m in its existing financial year on legal fees associated with its legal fight over Linux.

Chris Sontag, senior vice-president of SCO, said the notices "formally communicate to Unix source code licensees and certain commercial Linux end users that they must utilise SCO intellectual property within the bounds of their existing legal agreements and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act".

SCO also announced its first full year of profitability today, reporting $5.3m in net income for its 2003 financial year, which ended 31 October, despite legal fees paid out to wage its Unix copyright fight. That fight began when SCO in March filed a $1bn lawsuit against IBM for allegedly breaching its Unix licensing contract.

The company would have reported net income of $14.3m for the year had it not reported a charge of nearly $9m to pay law firms involved in the lawsuit and related efforts to "enforce its intellectual property rights", SCO officials said.

The profit for the year was $79.3m in revenue, up 23% from $64.2m the previous year.

For the fourth quarter, SCO reported $24.3m in revenue, a 57% increase over revenue of $15.5m for the same quarter a year earlier.

The fourth-quarter revenue included $14m from sales of Unix products and services, with an additional $10.3m from licensing agreements with Microsoft and Sun Microsystems signed earlier in the year.

The $9m charge for legal fees kept the company's fourth quarter in the red. The company reported a net loss of $1.6m but said it would have seen net income at $7.4m without the legal expenses.

SCO chief executive officer Darl McBride noted that the company's financial position has been strengthened by a $50m investment in SCO by BayStar Capital. Accounting for that investment had delayed the release of the yearly and quarterly financial results by two weeks.

McBride said SCO closed the 2003 financial year with $64m in cash, which gives SCO "the resources and the flexibility to both enforce and protect its Unix intellectual property and expand its core business".

For this quarter, which ends 31 January, the company expected total revenue to be between $10m and $15m, in line with the same quarter last year. The company also said expenses will rise in the next financial year from SCO source initiatives as the company "expands the scope of its legal strategy to enforce and protect its Unix intellectual property".

SCO officials predicted that spending on legal fees will rise by as much as an additional $2m per quarter in this financial year, up from legal spending last year of $2m to $3m per quarter.

Re:Please provide non propeitery version please.

[killproc]

December 18, 2003 [Name] [Address] Re: AT&T / SCO License No. SOFT-____ Dear UNIX Licensee: You are designated as Licensee under the above-referenced software licensing agreement (the "Agreement"). The undersigned SCO Group, Inc. ("SCO") is the successor licensor. The Agreement is in full force and effect according to its terms. License Grant to Use UNIX Technology You were granted under Para. 2.01 of the Agreement: [A] personal, nontransferable and nonexclusive right to use in the [Authorized Country] each Software Product identified in one or more Supplements hereto, solely for Licensee's own internal business purposes and solely on or in conjunction with Designated CPU's for such Software Product. Such right to use includes the right to modify such Software Product and to prepare derivative works based such Software Product, provided that the resulting materials are treated hereunder as part of the original Software Product. The Software Product thus includes more than the base System V release licensed by you. Software Products also includes: (a) the UNIX software release based on UNIX System V prepared by your UNIX vendor and (b) modifications to, or derivative works based on, any UNIX product made by you. Limitations on Use of UNIX Technology Your limitations on use and other obligations under the Agreement include the following: Para. 2.05. No right is granted by this Agreement for the use of Software Products directly for others, or for any use of Software Products by others. [This is expanded under 2.06 under some contracts.] Para. 4.01. Licensee agrees that it will not, without prior written consent of [SCO], export, directly or indirectly, Software Products covered by this Agreement to any country outside the[Authorized Country]. Para. 7.06(a) [7.05(a). Licensee agrees that it shall hold all parts of the Software Products subject to this Agreement in confidence for [SCO]. Licensee further agrees that it shall not make any disclosure of any or all of the Software Products (including methods or concepts utilized therein) to anyone, except to employees of Licensee to whom such disclosure is necessary to the use for which rights are granted hereunder. Licensee shall appropriately notify each employee to whom such disclosure is made that such disclosure is made in confidence and shall be kept in confidence by such employee. Para. 7.09. Neither this Agreement nor any rights hereunder, in whole or in part, shall be assignable or otherwise transferable by Licensee and any purported assignment or transfer shall be null and void. Para. 7.10. [N]othing in this Agreement grants to Licensee the right to sell, lease, or otherwise transfer or dispose of a Software Product in whole or in part. Required Certification Re: Use of UNIX You are also obligated to certify proper use of the Software Products by you under the Agreement, as required by the following Para. 2.04 2.05: On [SCO's] request, but not more frequently than annually, Licensee shall furnish to SCO a statement, certified by an authorized representative of Licensee, listing the location, type and serial number of all Designated CPUs hereunder and stating that the use by Licensee of Software Products subject to this Agreement has been reviewed and that each such Software Product is being used solely on such Designated CPUs (or temporarily on back-up CPUs) for such Software Products in full compliance with the provisions of this Agreement. (Emphasis added.) Accordingly, SCO requires written certification by your authorized representative under Para. 2.04 within 30 days of receipt of this letter. Such written certification must include statements that: 1. You are not running Linux binary code that was compiled from any version of Linux that contains our copyrighted application binary interface code ("ABI Code") specifically identified in the attached notification letter. 2. You, your contractors and your employees have, to your knowledge, held at all times all parts of the Software Products (including methods and concepts) in confidence for SCO. 3. You have approp

SCO talks BS and Unix(Be)Ware!

[NoSuchGuy]

The letter to licensees warns that if they do not provide "a full and complete certification" in 30 days, SCO may examine legal remedies, including termination of the license.

- How can they terminate my Linux license (GPL)?
- How about the Samba-Team releases the next version under a "GPL for all - but not SCO"-License?
Then there is no more windows compatible file server in UnixBeWare!