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SCO Targets UK Firms
indierockboy writes "It seems that SCO is bringing its dodgy 'Linux licenses' over here to the UK. Vnunet.com reports that SCO's expansion of their 'Linux licensing programme' makes legal action against UK users 'imminent'. Does anyone know if the ongoing cases in the USA can be used as a defense? Since SCO has yet to prove anything..."
Seriously, this crap has been going on for an insane amount of time now. This announcment is quite clearly yet another attempt to manipulate stock prices.
Since SCO has basically been told to put up or shut up, and has absolutely no proof whatsoever that anything in Linux contains their IP, because it doesn't, they're moving on to other countries. It's an act of desperation. Few in the U.S. bought it, and those that did I am sure feel like complete idiots now for wasting their $699. I expect the situation to be roughly the same in the U.K., except for the £ sign.
How am I supposed to fit a pithy, relevant quote into 120 characters?
I have not even heard rumors of "Stolen Code" except for things like erno.h (I don't know how to spell). Last Janruary they were supposed to have been required to produce the code, they didn't. . .you know the story.
Here we are more than a year after the trial started and they haven't produced any evidence that they own anything, and they are threatening legal action on the basis of their no evidence. This is redundant, but why does anyone listen to them? Do they think the CIO's of companies will just pay without any evidence that they should?
It seems the strategy is to try to scare foreign companies into paying for licenses so that they can continue the legal fight in the USA. SCO in this country (USA) is being driven back under the rock that from which they came and they know it. They also cannot continue paying their attorneys out of their own pockets because the corporate funds they can afford to use in the "Linux IP War" are almost exhausted. "Ding" a dim bulb turns on over their collective heads. "Let's shakedown foreign companies to get the cash needed to sue more organizations." I'm sure all the UK companies will love the idea of helping to pay SCO's attorneys. Of course, the reward for doing this will be the invasion of Europe by SCO legal dogs to maul those companies that dared to ignore SCO. This will happen unless the UK companies act like their American counterparts and wait until the SCO vs IBM, SCO vs Novell cases conclude. Depriving SCO of revenue is the surest way to limit SCO's legal delaying tactics which will allow the American court cases to finish sooner than later.
Dodge HEMIs Rule!
Lets hope they bankcrupt themselves in legal bills. American culture is spreading to far, in the super market a few days ago, i couldnt get meat cut by the butcher because he said he wasnt insured.
Speaking of SCO and "IP", I've noticed that for the last couple of months EV1 Servers has been advertising in "Linux Journal". They have the gall to put a claim of being "IP Compliant" at the bottom...
Does EV1 really think it's a good idea to KEEP supporting SCO's FUD in front of a big audience of Linux people? Or do they figure that not many Linux people remember what was going on?
Before, I could have written them off as "suckers" for falling for SCO's claims. Now, though, I can only assume they're doing it on purpose...
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Knowing a lawyer, the legal system in the UK doesn't put up with the shit the American system does.
To put a finer point on it, the UK has some government offices that take in interest in SCO-like shakedown practices. The Office Of Fair Trading is concerned with fair business practices in general; misleading sollicitations being a particular area where they have legal powers.
Furthermore, the Serious Fraud Office is a likely place to turn to in the event SCO starts sending out letters to a lot of businesses (especially if the total amount of monies sollicited in bogus licenses exceeds 1 million pounds, but given the international dimension and widespread public concern, they might decide to take on the case even below the 1M GBP threshold).
I'm under the impression that these offices are a lot more assetive than for example the FTC or FBI, seeing as we've not heard a peep out of them during the whole SCO debacle.
And don't forget kids, when SCO comes knocking, ask them what they're selling, ask them to prove they own what they're selling, and have them send an invoice. If they invoice you for linux, that's fraud.
And if the line is that they're selling the right not to be sued by them, remember these people are on record as saying "contracts are what you use against parties you have relationships with" - you'd be no safer (in fact, worse off).
I'd have to go against that, and say "bring it on". They wouldn't last 5 minutes in a UK court.
If it weren't for the rocks in its bed, the stream would have no songs.
Go ahead and use Linux without fear of reprisal; SCO distributed Linux under the terms of the GPL in the UK. That means you are cleared to use it under the terms of the GPL.
SCO/MS will never make specific claims anyway, so who cares WHAT they say.
Seems like their WHOLE business model at this point is making noise.
Yeah, the buzz is growing, but it's called Linux!
I don't know the meaning of the word 'don't' - J