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SCO Playing Name Games
Ghost in the Shell Game writes "We've long known that SCO has had a twisted view of UNIX history, sometimes pretending to be oldSCO when it suits them, and a separate business entity when it does not. However, according to this piece on Groklaw, they're now registering the UNIX System Laboratories trademark in what looks like an attempt to confuse history further. If you're wondering how they can do this, the USL trademark was abandoned in 1993, when USL was bought out by Novell. Hopefully, no one will be fooled by this name game, any more than we were when the spyware maker Gator changed their name to Claria."
I should register "Osbourne Computer" or "Altair" or something equally cool, geeky and dead.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Darl McBride has whined himself back into the early stages of childhood. Film at eleven.
... Your lawsuit is against SCO. But we're UNIX System Labratories.
I think the name game is more closely related to the original Napster vs the current Napster then the Claria/Gator bs.
Not everything is analogous to cars. Car analogies rarely work.
How about Philip Morris changing its name to Altria, and then running "cigs are bad" ads using the name Philip Morris?
It's a blatant attempt to prepare for reopening the BSD settlement. Just before their IBM/Novel souts fold, they will announce ownership of BSD and all BSD-related code (TCP/IP stack, anyone?).
Won't matter, though; stock has lost its $5 support, and it's only a matter of time before the shutters close on them.
Did we need any more proof that caldera has been acting in bad faith?
How the blue part of SCO's logo looks like a chunk of Mickey Mouse's head... What a Mickey Mouse company.
My Karma is so low that even my own postings are beyond my current threshold
Hey, this is not bad news at all... Unix System Laboratories is just an anagram for Tux Sorority Amiableness. So now it's both Linux friendly, but more importantly, friendly to friendly Linux co-eds!
Well, that and Examinable? It's Sorry! Oust!
Small potatoes make the steak look bigger.
This will be off topic but how and why is Sco stock value keep riding Down then Up. As off now.. trade $4.30 but earlier at one point it was $4.03, WHY?!
& pr ev=/search%3Fq%3Dscox%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF -8&q=stocks:SCOX+
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8
+++ David Watts 5495 0.0 0.5 1888 884
Claria Explains It All.
Somehow missed that one, myself (posted on a Saturday - that's why). I was wondering why I hadn't seen gator around much on the office ad-aware scans. Now claria, that's a name i've been seeing. don't think i like it any more.
SCO is just coming to terms with exactly how much they are hated and trying to change horses in mid-stream. But it won't work. Subpeanas are still PITAs and it doesn't matter whose name is on the letterhead of the C&D.
If the author had read the entire Groklaw article, toward the bottom she says:
....
UPDATE: I missed something. This next one was registered in 1993 and cancelled in 2000. Here it is:
Owner - (REGISTRANT) UNIX SYSTEM LABORATORIES, INC. CORPORATION DELAWARE 190 River Road Summit NEW JERSEY 07901
So it wasn't abandoned in 1993, it expired perhaps in 2000. Big difference.
Tequila: It's not just for breakfast anymore!
You can change the name but you cant change the smell, and SCO, whadeva you call it stinks to high heavens.
Economic Left/Right: -0.62
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -3.69
'Cause you know, wretched hive and all that...
...For we are no longer the nights who say, "Ni!"
We are now the nights who say, "Iki iki iki p'tang ZOOP boing"!
The best way to derail SCO's attempt to register "Unix System Laboratories" (a trademark they're not currently using) would be for someone to demonstrate that they're already using that mark in trade. Of course X/Open, the owners of the UNIX® trademark, also ought to have something to say about it.
http://alternatives.rzero.com/
If we dont give in to SCO's demands, then the terrorists have already won.
is still a Rose.
.
Now s/Rose/SCO/
Get the picture?
But it seems relevant now, especially with the IE patch and now this.
& cid=982 2425
From this post:
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=116042
A snippet from "Slashbot Rhyme"
"I'm Microsoft bashin' like every single day
Coz the OS got holes and Exploder's teh gay
Now SCO's talkin' trash so I give firefox a ride
To reply as a Coward so I can hate on McBride"
Everyone get ready for nano-gator to come out screaming that Gator is not spyware. Just keep reading. It will happen.
How long is it going to be before the SCO backers lose interest and drop them? All they have been doing lately is pumping out lawsuits in hopes that they'll win. They haven't produced anything of worth to the world lately. Dump them. It's pointless for SCO to continue. So, why back a pointless corporation?
An astute poster has noticed SCO cannot use UNIX System Laboratories without the expressed consent of the Open Group. Apparently it has not yet received such permission. Shot down in about a day, what a resource!
Who wouldn't pay the licensing fee to Santa?
Pay me $699 for the children.
Nothing like those last ditch efforts to try and save a case. One can only hope that the SCO case doesn't play out like the O.J. Simpson case. Everyone knew he was guilty. He knew it. His lawyers knew it. The African-American US population knew it. Yet he was freed. In similar regard, we (the IT, developers, etc) all know SCO is full of their own crud. Linus knows it, I know it, you all know it. But heaven forbid they actually win.
They can change UNIXWare to BOB, and OpenServer to NewtonOS.
Then they can change all their employee's first names to John, ala Buckaroo Bonzai. Darl kind of reminds me of Lord John Whorfin. "Laugh while you can, monkey boy!"
My Other Computer Is A Data General Nova III.
Here SCO attacks open source as dangerously liable to include proprietary code, yet here they are with just about every new improvement to their product IS an open source project! Lets see, it now comes with:
* Mozilla Web browser 1.6 adds new features including tabbed browsing, pop-up blocking, and PDF support
* Squid Web Proxy Cache 2.5STABLE5 with expanded authentication schemes, optimizes searching, SSL gatewaying, and more
* Perl 5.8.4
* Apache HTTP Server 1.3.31
* OpenSSH 3.8p1
* BIND 8.4.4
try { do() || do_not(); } catch (JediException err) { yoda(err); }
I suspect SCO (originally Caldera) wants to find a new name since they've destroyed any vestiges of goodwill attached to the name SCO. They'll probably wait until after the lawsuits, quietly change names and then seek a buyer for whatever is left of their business. They might even bring in new management chosen especially for their ability to convincingly express dismay with the sins of their predecessors.
===== Murphy's Law is recursive. =====
And it was, when someone else made the same joke earlier. Hence, you're redundant.
To quote from TheSneeze:
Interestingly, if you rearrange the letters in the word "ANAGRAM" you get the sentence: "ONLY DORKS LIKE ANAGRAMS."
Claria ???!
So that's where Gator seemingly disappeared to!
Unfortunately it wasn't funny, it was just stupid.
In preparation for selling they might want to rebrand their Unix business from "SCO UnixWare" to something without the SCO name. "Unix Systems Laboratories" would do just fine.
We should make a fundrasing campaign, buy sco and close the darn thing.
This is totally insecure, but very convenient.
you mean Darl's sitting in his office with a stack of legal docs marked "Urgent!" and "Final Notice!" laughing, and going:
Shirley!
Shirley, Shirley bo Birley Bonana fanna fo Firley Fee fy mo Mirley,
Shirley!
Lincoln!
Lincoln, Lincoln bo Bincoln Bonana fanna fo Fincoln Fee fy mo Mincoln,
Lincoln!
Arnold!
Arnold, Arnold bo Barnold Bonana fanna fo Farnold Fee fy mo Marnold
Arnold!
try { do() || do_not(); } catch (JediException err) { yoda(err); }
...does this mean I need to start over again with the "Litigious bastards" thing?
Hack your mind out of its sandbox.
Including the trademark "UNIX" which doesn't belong to them as part of a new trademark doesn't work. If it did, I'd register "Slashdot Toilet Paper" and "Coca-Cola Tampons" immediately. How about "Chevrolet Mouthwash" or "United Airlines Hemorrhoid Cream". Gee this is fun...
I live in the wrong country so I don't think that I can do it. Someone like Red Hat would do nicely (especially if the The Open Group group pitched in).
Free Software: Like love, it grows best when given away.
...knights, if you please.
"Iki iki iki p'tang ZOOP boing"! right (I'm guessing it's right)
and misspell Knights as nights?
Did you cut and paste this from somehwere (if so where?)
Or did you do it from memory?
Letter To Iran
Namely, 70 year old judges with no clue what the "innernet" is, who blindly grant motions on their docket for meritless lawsuits so they can get in a few rounds of golf before their prostate exams...
did you win a free ipod? build a case for it here
From The Open Group's Website:
This seems like a pretty blatant abuse of a trademark owned by someone else. I'm guessing that if they ever made good on their "intent to use" this designation they would be served by TOG in about 15 minutes, backed by the $5 PayPal donations of every geek on the planet Earth.
adam b.
AT&T Bell Laboratories was taken.
Philip Morris -> Altria
We're all supposed to think "altruism" and forget about their habit of peddling cancer sticks to young people.
Ben "You have your mind on computers, it seems."
Is there any reason at all to allow corporations to change their names?
We have a whole body of law -- trademark law -- to prevent companies from confusing customers by imitating other companies. Why do we allow them to confuse customers by pretending not to be themselves?
In recent memory, I can think of this one, the Gator to Claria switch, and Phillip Morris to Altria Group switch. Every one of them is a blatant attempt to shed bad PR and start fresh. But they EARNED the bad PR! Why can they legally drop a PR debt more easily than they can drop a financial debt?
At the very least, why doesn't the FTC review all name changes and reject ones that appear to be motivated by negative PR?
Wow, cleverly restating what has been posted about a million times by now it's....adam b.! Give him a hand, folks!
Jeez.
adam b.
Someone earlier on another thread suggested that this move might be a prelude to their bringing the war to the BSDs (Free, Net, and Open). If Baystar manages to wring their $20 million out of SCO, then it's hard to see how SCO is going to get the cash they need to continue the fight. They may be able to re-register USL, but won't be able to do much with it. Any judge worth his/her salt is going to see that this is a different USL that had nothing to do with the old USL. All of this is of course *before* IBM (and anyone else interested) turns around and incinerates them in countersuits.
John Small Berries?
How far is Summit, NJ from Grover's Mill, again?
-- Terry
You know adventually SCO will change its name to G.O.D. Then they can charge license fees for everything!
Too bad the people at SCO don't know that same name does not mean same rights. As for the USL name, The Open Group has a trademark on UNIX.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
"It's a trick. Get an axe."
12:50 - press return.
not an original comment... but dammit... he beat me to it.
LINDON, UT:
SCO announced today that investment expert AC predicted their stock to "go to $40,000", and stated it "simply isn't worth the risk" to continue to hold short positions.
About SCO
The SCO Group (Nasdaq: SCOX - News) helps millions of customers in more than 82 countries to grow their businesses everyday. Headquartered in Lindon, Utah, SCO has a worldwide network of more than 11,000 resellers and 4,000 developers. SCO Global Services provides reliable localized support and services to partners and customers. For more information on SCO products and services, visit http://www.sco.com.
SCO, and the associated SCO logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of The SCO Group, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group.
taken! (by Davidleeroth) Thanks Bingo Foo!
That correction DID NOT EXIST when I submitted the article yesterday. Yes, it does sometimes take them a day or more to process articles here on slashdot.
I submitted it only a few minutes after it went up on Groklaw.
Yes, I had read the whole thing. If you only saw it last night, it had already been up for hours, because I saw it at lunchtime at work.
the fact that feces still stinks, no matter what you call it.
Professional Politicians are not the solution, they ARE the problem.
Jeez, lighten up "Ghost in the Shell Game", the person who really should have put in the correction was Taco, since he put it up on the site. We all understand that articles arent' posted instantly. My "the author" was actually meant for TACO, not you as the submitter. Technically, the author was the gal at Grok, as what we do here at /. is hardly authoring.
It wasn't a personal attack on you. A "I submitted before the correction, but Taco didn't notice the correction" would have been fine. Posted in your real name, perhaps.
Tequila: It's not just for breakfast anymore!
Microsoft can't touch dat!
They'd change thier name to "Fucksticks" and sue the vast multitude of assholes out there for stealing thier bad attitude.
Of course Congress wouldn't stand for them infringing on thier livelyhood and put them out of business.
I don't log in from work, which is why I used that alias while submitting it, as I was reading Slashdot at lunchtime.
As for "the author" you may notice that there were no editor comments on this article. Nor in fact has it been edited at all, rather it was merely accepted by them. Whereas I did not write the Groklaw article, I did write the entirity of this one. You will forgive me then if I was confused as to who you were refering to with the word "author" when you talked about them not having read it the whole thing...
Is that UNIX Systems Laboratories or Un-Savory Lawyers?
Drop me a line at:
Key ID: 0x54D1D809
As I recall, the much debated Asset Purchase Agreement between Novell and OldSCO specified something to the effect of only including copyrights and trademarks that were "necessary" for the unix business that oldSCO bought from Novell.
Is SCO now planning to claim that they "need" the copyrights to go with the "Unix System Labs" trademark in some bizarre argument?
Hacker Public Radio is our Friend
oh no you dont, Darl
...
...
From 4.1 Combination of Trademarks in Product Names
"Licensees may combine the UNIX Trademark with their own trademarks as a product name, provided they seek prior approval by submitting the proposed combination including a sketch of the proposed use. If approporate, to X/Open Company. X/Open Company may ask to review a proof of the final artwork."
"Licensees may use the UNIX Trademark as part of the proper name of a product."
"The License specifically prohibits Licensees of any Trademarks from registering with the relevant trademark authorities specific forms of the Trademarks including Trademarks used in combination."
That's what I thought it said when I first read it!
You can't fool me. There ain't no sanity clause.
I've got a fever and the only prescription is more COBOL.
Now the purpose of their machinations has become clear. By registering the USL trademark, they can now combine it with their SCO trademark and their OS to become...
COLOSSUS!!!!!!!!!!!!
(also known as SCO U LOCO)
In other news, SCO has filed lawsuits against Marvel Comics, David Ripton (creater of GPL game Colossus) and a series of "John Doe" lawsuits against descendants of famous Rhodian sculptor Chares of Lindros (architect of the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders).
When we all get RFID tags at birth then you can label them what they are - "Death"
When you buy your first pack you get "Death 40's" (Because they are smooth and oh so sexy!) Then after your birthday you walk into the store and -
"Gas, um, this Mt Dew, and a snickers and gimme that pack of Methol Death, what assholes, naming it that. My Mom said they used to have real names."
"Yeah, I kinda miss Joe and his coupons in the pack. Here ya go buddy, want that on your...?"
"Visa Uranium"
"Ok, it will bill you..."
"Yeah, I know when I hit the door."
....a few minutes pass...
"Hey um, when I was in here I asked for Death 40's - these are 39's."
"Yeah, your birthday was last year right?"
"Yeah, but..."
"No, you got the right pack, the paper display checks your Imclone RFID"
...
"Oh"
Sera
Slashdot, where armchair scientists get shouted down and armchair theologians get modded up.
Interesting... I always thought it looked like Pennicillium mold growing on a blood-agar culture plate.
The near worthless look for value everywhere.
GTE/Vorizon purchased BBN and then did a commercial claiming they created the internet.
Nothing new here. It is now 2004/07/29 just 30mi South of NYC and still no xDSL for my home, and the FCC think they are doing a great job, what a MF joke on US.
OldHawk777
Unaccountable leaders are masters, and unrepresented people are slaves. How do US and EU fare?
Scox has been calling themselves the "Owner of the UNIX operating system" for over a year. OpenGroup seems to be okay with it.
I don't think I could make a soft drink called Pepsi-beverage without getting permission from Pepsi. I'm sure USL violates OpenGroup's trademark, but it doesn't seem like OpenGroups wants to do anything.
'Doh, I saw that a year ago and I was tempted to register it. I figured I shouldn't or SCO might put their cross hairs on me. Maybe I could have gotten some bucks out of them. wouldacouldashoulda.
into a Federal fraud case every day.
It would be nice to see the lot doing time in the same Leavenworth "Hole" I was in.
Even if they come from Utah, they ain't gonna like "D" Cellhouse with its 40-degree temperature in winter and it's 105-110 degree temperature in summer.
Make sure you hide some money, Darl, so your wife can put it on your books without the Feds taking it for racketeering penalties!
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Richard Steven Hack - This sig is TOO GODDAMN SHORT TO DO ANYTHING USEFUL WITH! MORONS!
It's very simple: Mr Stephens is casting as broad a predictive net as possible, so that, no matter what happens in the near future, he can still claim to have been correct. It's an old "psychic" con called cold reading.
Of course, Mr Stephens probably has some knowledge of the beneficial effects of vagueness, skills honed when he was an anonymous gossip columnist. No wonder he's still using the same pseudonym.
They own UNIX, they might as well own every trademark containing "UNIX".
There is nothing wrong with what SCO is doing here.
Why is this a story?
"Sues IBM: Extortion Salary?"
i dint mene 2 afend ne cunts owt thare
Maybe Big Brother awards can add a history manipulation award. I'm sure SCO would qualify.