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OSRM Declares Linux Free of Copyright Violations

Posted by timothy on from the but-they-don't-get-to-end-the-whole-circus dept.

tmu writes "According to a recent press release, the Linux 2.4 and 2.6 kernels are free of any code that violate copyrights. OSRM, the new startup formed by Daniel Egger and including groklaw founder Pamela Jones, completed a 6-month review of all code in both kernels. They must be pretty confident of the results, because they're offering product liability insurance to both developers and users."

4 of 347 comments (clear)

  1. PC speaks for herself... by LostCluster · · Score: 5, Informative

    Groklaw's running a more detailed piece that gives more information than in the press release. This basically ammounts to a reporter reporting about herself, but that also makes it information straight from the source.

  2. Re:Backed with the foundation of a house of cards. by Bruce+Perens · · Score: 5, Informative
    Of course we would use reinsurance, as do all similar companies. Daniel is working on that side.

    Bruce

    --
    Bruce Perens.
  3. Re:If it's so free of copyright infringement.... by mopslik · · Score: 5, Informative

    Depends if you mean sued as in 'successfully sued', or just the initiation of the process, and if you believe your nation's legal system is just and fair.

    Even "unsuccessfully sued" can cost someone a hell of a lot of money. Have you seen how long some of these cases can drag out? It costs money just to defend yourself. And if you successfully defend yourself, you still have to launch your own counter-suit if you want to reclaim any of those losses.

    While insurance seems of little use to most people, I can see some companies thinking it's a worthwhile investment.

  4. Quit worrying about SCO by Animats · · Score: 5, Informative
    It's time to quit worrying about SCO.
    • Their stock is in a screaming dive. Closed at $7.77 today, down from $22 at peak.
    • Their VCs want their money back.
    • Before they can sue Linux users over copyright violations, they have to beat IBM and Novell and Red Hat and Damlier-Chrysler or AutoZone.
    • They're losing against IBM, and the other suits aren't going anywhere yet.
    • IBM's law firm is Cravath, the big hammer of corporate litigation. Cravath puts huge teams of lawyers on the job and has an organized process for not missing anything and not making mistakes. Nobody wins a weak suit against Cravath.
    • SCO has never sued a Linux user that didn't have a previous contract with SCO. If they try, any such suit can be stalled until the big lawsuits are settled, for the same reason the Red Hat lawsuit is on hold.
    • Because SCO has been sueing their own customers, it's dangerous to become an SCO customer. SCO sales have thus tanked.
    So there.