Contractors to Bear Burden if SCO Chases AU Govt

Peter writes "Contractors are set to bear the burden of SCO legal action if the company chases Australian Government departments. Apparently there are provisions in the Australian Copyright Act which allows the govt to assume IP rights then negotiate a "fair and reasonable" payment for those rights. This is in addition to contract provisions which state that contractors must accept liability for third party IP disputes."

Comments

Ask your lawyer first

[FunWithHeadlines]

Oh well, given how badly the SCO case has been going for them, and how confident IBM seems, and how many cases are looming against SCO, and how none of the evidence seems to point in SCO's favor, this is an empty threat in the long term. In the short term, however, as SCO goes through its death throes, I suppose it's possible some Aussie contractor gets hit with legal claims. If that happens, ask your lawyer for advice before you do anything (good advice any time you get embroiled in legal affairs), but don't worry. Chances are very good you won't have to pay a dime, but play things the smart way by making sure you don't do anything foolish.

And soon this will all blow over as SCO is turned into a caldera by IBM.

Class action lawsuits in Aus?

[earthforce_1]

Standard IANAL disclaimer: (Especially in Australia)
I would guess that it is possible for contractors to band together and get some sort of class action status if SCO starts harassing them?

Realistically, I don't think it would be worth their time for SCO to try and identify small fry overseas contractors using Linux and file claims against them. And larger gov't contractors would have enough legal muscle to defend themselves in court. And SCO is becoming notorious for talking much and doing little.