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SCO Website Using Groklaw's Content

darkonc writes "It looks like they didn't learn from the BSD debacle (where, having sued Berkley for copyright infringement, AT&T found that they were using BSD code without acknowledging it's source). Groklaw has an article detailing how SCO has documents created by and for Groklaw on their site -- without even acknowledging the source. It seems that the defenders of the holy IP principle have hoisted the skull and bones."

286 comments

  1. Court documents by dameron · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Not IP, yet...

    -dameron

    1. Re:Court documents by igrp · · Score: 5, Interesting
      Well, we went over this last night went the story hit Groklaw. To sum it up, from memory:
      • There is handwriting on at least one of the scanned documents. It's questionable whether that means that sufficient additional creative content has been added to the non-protected derivative work.
        Personally, I think it doesn't. Comments might but we're talking about markings here. This is just my personal opinion though. This still doesn't rise beyond mechanical duplication, IMHO.
      • It could be argued that putting together individual filings, and organizing them qualifies as a copyrightable compilation. (For those who are interested, here's a good basic introduction to get you started).
      • This could also be a license violation as Groklaw's articles are covered by the Creative Commons License which requires attribution with republication.

      I think it's questionable whether the PDF files count as a transcript which would be necessary since you would have to have a copyrightable work in the first place.

      If memory serves me correctly, there was also a general consensus that

      a) SCO sucks b) C&D'ing SCO could prove to be a very interesting publicity stunt c) SCO sucks.

    2. Re:Court documents by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It could be argued that putting together individual filings, and organizing them qualifies as a copyrightable compilation.

      I seem to recall that simple markup of a public document isn't enough to call a work copyrightable. I can't remember the court case now, but there was one over a company attempting to charge royalties to people who referred to the line numbering used in some court transcripts (or was it the federal register?)

      I can't find the case in google now.

    3. Re:Court documents by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      They should send a DMCA takedown notice to SCO's upstream. That would make my day.

    4. Re:Court documents by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This whole episode is an embarrassment. The fact that PJ has done the same thing to others is just double embarrassing.

    5. Re:Court documents by mliikset · · Score: 1

      The point is that the scanned documents (image file) are either OCRed, or hand transcribed as text or PDF files. It is on that *finished product* that SCOX is infringing or possibly plagiarizing. If they just downloaded the scans from Groklaw, they would not be guilty of anything on that score.

    6. Re:Court documents by SpaceLifeForm · · Score: 1
      Why is PP moderated 'Offtopic'?

      The court documents being generated will be very historical, and potentially someone, will want to make money from those documents.

      --
      You are being MICROattacked, from various angles, in a SOFT manner.
  2. Hipocrisy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Pot, meet kettle.

  3. Weasels by dolo666 · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Corporate Culture
    You can tell a *lot* about a company by it's corporate culture. I remember a post I made a while ago to my weblog, before I did a domain change. It's about PHP Consulting but it really applies to this SCO article because of the no-good-theivery going on at SCO. I think SCO certainly faults on each and every one of the following:

    Answer these questions about each potential customer, or even your managers or coworkers:

    1. Are you stupid?
    2. Are you evil natured?
    3. Are you disorganized?
    4. Are you unsuccessful?
    5. Do you have no budget?
    6. Are you a stinking liar? Weasel?
    7. Are you a know it all?
    8. Are you a control freak?
    9. Do you have mental problems?
    10. Are you superstitious?


    Read on...
    1. Re:Weasels by dbIII · · Score: 4, Interesting
      11. Are you paying huge amounts of the companies money in legal fees to your brother?

      It looks a lot like a scam where SCO is the victim and linux is just being used as a smokescreen while Darl guts the company and lines his pockets with cash.

    2. Re:Weasels by Fizzl · · Score: 1

      Woohoo!!
      10/10! What do I win!?!

    3. Re:Weasels by cthulhu11 · · Score: 1

      N+1: Does your CEO print up posters of himself portrayed as Indiana Jones? N+2: Is his trophy wife on them too?

    4. Re:Weasels by Feztaa · · Score: 1

      With any luck at all, you will be cleansed from the gene pool shortly.

      But with my luck, my boss will get hit by a bus and you'll be his new replacement.

    5. Re:Weasels by CarpetShark · · Score: 1
      1. Are you stupid?
      2. Are you evil natured?
      3. Are you disorganized?
      4. Are you unsuccessful?
      5. Do you have no budget?
      6. Are you a stinking liar? Weasel?
      7. Are you a know it all?
      8. Are you a control freak?
      9. Do you have mental problems?
      10. Are you superstitious?
      A lot of name-calling, stereotyping of sick people, and just plain offensiveness there. Wouldn't have been so bad if your post had a point beyond "they're bad" :(
    6. Re:Weasels by dolo666 · · Score: 1

      RTFA:
      Answer these questions about each potential customer, or even your managers or coworkers:

      1. Are you stupid?
      2. Are you evil natured?
      3. Are you disorganized?
      4. Are you unsuccessful?
      5. Do you have no budget?
      6. Are you a stinking liar? Weasel?
      7. Are you a know it all?
      8. Are you a control freak?
      9. Do you have mental problems?
      10. Are you superstitious?

      1. Stupid people will cause your project to fail. By this, I don't mean computer-smarts. This is general intelligence and you can't have too much of it. It's okay to have a really smart person who is computer-illiterate; they generally aren't a problem because they can understand someone who is reasoning with them. A really stupid person will do the same thing even when it's not working and that's why you want to be really careful of stupid people. Repeating something over and over that is not working will kill a project.

      A good way to tell if someone is stupid or not is to tell them a little story about yourself and see if they understand you. Frequent spelling mistakes are not necessarily a good way to tell if someone is stupid. Some stupid people are meticulous at covering it up -- I mean, it's their livelihood so they have to be cautious. Overcautious people might be stupid. Tell them a joke that makes no sense -- if they laugh, they might be stupid. If they laugh and say that makes no sense, they are good hearted. If they look at you like you're on mars, then they are smart but possibly bad natured.

      2. Evil people will screw you over and love it -- it's part of their plan and you can't change their nature. The biggest mistake people make is thinking they can outwit or change an evil person. It's impossible, and as futile as arguing on the internet.

      To find out if someone is evil, you will have to talk to other people around them. Examine their policies. Examine how they deal with difficulties. Look past marketing propaganda and get to the roots. Evil people will stop you from getting to the truth about anything.

      Chances are, if you hear someone say something mean spirited, they are either evil or disgruntled, and dealing with either will render the same result.

      Evil people are always thinking about being compensated and they will sue you if they can, even if they don't deserve it. They might leave you holding the bag on some bad business deal. Usually the best way to see if someone is evil is to notice how other people react to them. There are degrees of evil, but any amount of it will cause you some serious problems. Obviously in an email-only business relationship this kind of customer filtering is tough. But it's not impossible. Evil people are often disguised as zealous do-gooders, but sometimes they come equipped with Satanic garb and scythes.

      3. Disorganized people will not pay you on time. By far the worst of all offenders, the disorganized customer is a time killer. Your budget for $1k will dwindle in the first week and you'll have nothing to show for it. You'll be promised something but a week later the customer will say they forgot. Disorganized people actually do forget things -- all the time. And this is why you keep a verbose log record when you are forced to deal with these people. The sad truth is -- only bankers and programmers are organized. Okay librarians too. But that's pretty much about it. Everyone else is a shade of disorganized.

      The way to handle disorganized people is to have a verbose set of terms and conditions and refuse to do any work for them until they sign on the dotted line. Even then, it may be smart to have them work with you on retainer only.

      Do not enter an escrow agreement with a disorganized customer. You'll never see the money and neither will they, so it's lose/lose. Prepaid in full is the way to go, so you can be sure to live up to your part of the bargain. A disorganized customer may offer you half now and half on completion -- don't take it. That's a sure fire way to give them 50% off when they refuse to pa

    7. Re:Weasels by CarpetShark · · Score: 1

      Aye, that is more useful. Still a little stereotypical and offensive for my taste, but there's good advice in there :) Sorry, I didn't read the article. Tried, but the link seemed to take me around in circles.

    8. Re:Weasels by dolo666 · · Score: 1

      Still a little stereotypical and offensive for my taste

      You know, I thought about that when I wrote the article. From my experience, being a little stereotypical when you are trying to get a good business going can actually save you money by preventing distaster and draining business entanglements. Look at the examples as triggers -- if someone you know hits a trigger, then maybe it's best not to involve them with your finances.

      Maybe I can rewrite the article to give examples of how to deal with each negative stereotype? That's something I've thought about, but have not yet pursued, because I figured it would be best not to deal with these types of people. However it might be interesting to develop methods for dealing with someone who has hit a trigger, to ensure that things run smoothly.

  4. We should write to SCO by bogaboga · · Score: 3, Insightful

    We should write to SCO to remind them of the fact. Here they are bashing the GPL yet go ahead and use content from an "unfriendly" Linux related site. After this message, I am gonna "overwhelm" their `contact us' mail box.

    1. Re:We should write to SCO by EmptyBuffalo · · Score: 1

      /.ing a help-desk email server could be fun!

      --
      cat life | grep joy >> memory
    2. Re:We should write to SCO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      We should write to SCO to remind them of the fact. Here they are bashing the GPL yet go ahead and use content from an "unfriendly" Linux related site. After this message, I am gonna "overwhelm" their `contact us' mail box.

      Remind SCO of their misattribution or lack of proper attribution, yes. But I hope no one is silly enough to make a legal issue of this, at least until the larger lawsuit is over and done with.

      Nothing but bait.

    3. Re:We should write to SCO by northcat · · Score: 1

      And you're going to make the day of a sysadmin, who has already went through enough, worse. While McBride sits in his jaccuzi.

  5. I have... by EmptyBuffalo · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...SCO printed on my TP and forgot to put the (c) on the logo!!! Are they going to sue me too???

    --
    cat life | grep joy >> memory
    1. Re:I have... by sepluv · · Score: 1

      No idea what a TP is. "SCO" would be a trademark--nothing to do with copyright. It could sue you if you tried to sell a similar product (e.g.: another OS) and called it "SCO".

      --
      Joe Llywelyn Griffith Blakesley
      [This post is in the public domain (copyright-free) unless otherwise stated]
    2. Re:I have... by daishin · · Score: 1

      No idea what a TP is.

      To clarify, TP = Toilet Paper, the parent was trying to imply that he wipes his ass with SCO. That they are only useful for collecting fecal matter.

      --
      (\_/)
      (O.o) This is Bunny. Add Bunny to your signature
      (> <) to help him achieve world domination.
    3. Re:I have... by sepluv · · Score: 2, Funny
      You mean a bit like their trademark on a TS.

      (That's the official TSG Poland site--TSG's own staff replaces the site with that image and resigned after they sued IBM.)

      --
      Joe Llywelyn Griffith Blakesley
      [This post is in the public domain (copyright-free) unless otherwise stated]
    4. Re:I have... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      tp = toilet paper. The poster was saying that he wipes his butt with sco.

    5. Re:I have... by kfg · · Score: 2, Funny

      It could sue you if you tried to sell a similar product (e.g.: another OS) and called it "SCO".

      SCO sells stock certificates, a similar product to TP, although less valuable.

      KFG

    6. Re:I have... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I like how when you click on "Poland" under SCO's worldwide offices section of their website, it lists the German office and URL.

    7. Re:I have... by phliar · · Score: 1

      Amazing!! Man, it gives me hope that there are still business people -- in Poland, at least -- with a sense of ethics and a sense of humour.

      --
      Unlimited growth == Cancer.
  6. Just a test? by Mad+Merlin · · Score: 3, Funny

    Perhaps SCO is just testing the waters to see how far they can go before the courts (hopefully) will slap them silly.

  7. Head of Canopy, Noorda's Daughter killed herself by ThoreauHD · · Score: 5, Interesting

    http://www.linuxbusinessweek.com/story/48789.htm?D E=1

    Happened last week- old news in internet time. But applicable her because SCO's financial backing literally took a bullet to the head. I think the least of their concerns would be Groklaw's stolen pdf files.

  8. Docs pulled from both groklaw and tuxrocks by wol · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Groklaw notes that SCO was pulling from both groklaw.net and tuxrocks.com. Even accepting that these are legal documents in SCO's own cases, it is amusing that they can't convert their own documents, but have to pull from OSS sites.

    --
    If you think deeply enough, you will have no single direction for your outrage.
    1. Re:Docs pulled from both groklaw and tuxrocks by Master+of+Transhuman · · Score: 1


      Well, you know they're supposed to be "UNIX technology leaders" - who can't do a ps2pdf run...

      Or maybe their finances are so bad they don't have enough employees around to do one...

      This really plumbs the depths of pathetic and petty. A company who behaves like this really should be shut down by the courts as a matter of public decency.

      Of course, if that were true, most of the corporations in America would be out of business by Tuesday.

      --
      Richard Steven Hack - This sig is TOO GODDAMN SHORT TO DO ANYTHING USEFUL WITH! MORONS!
    2. Re:Docs pulled from both groklaw and tuxrocks by sepluv · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Don't worry. No courts necessary. They'll be shut down soon just from not having sold any products for years while their lawyers bills are building up.

      --
      Joe Llywelyn Griffith Blakesley
      [This post is in the public domain (copyright-free) unless otherwise stated]
  9. So sue them? by WarwickRyan · · Score: 5, Funny

    Or doesn't copyright apply to scanned documents and PDFs? It's arguable, as there's as much creative expression there than there is in Britney's latest coaster....

    1. Re:So sue them? by slavemowgli · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I think Bridgeman Art Library v. Corel Corporation is an applicable precedent here; it states that when you have a two-dimensional work of art that is in the public domain, a photography of that work of art cannot be copyrighted, since even if you put a considerable amount of time and energy into getting the photograph right, you still have not created something original.

      IANAL, but I assume that scanning court documents is similar - just because you were the one who scanned them does (I'd assume) not mean you have a copyright on those PDFs then. Of course, SCO is claiming copyright on these documents themselves, so that's not entirely unfishy, either, but most likely, neither PJ (of Groklaw) nor Frank of (of Tuxrocks) who scanned those documents have a real case here.

      --
      quidquid latine dictum sit altum videtur.
    2. Re:So sue them? by HiThere · · Score: 2, Interesting

      It MUST apply. After all, SCO has claimed copyright on them.

      --

      I think we've pushed this "anyone can grow up to be president" thing too far.
    3. Re:So sue them? by sepluv · · Score: 1

      The scanner did write some stuff on the documents before scanning.

      --
      Joe Llywelyn Griffith Blakesley
      [This post is in the public domain (copyright-free) unless otherwise stated]
    4. Re:So sue them? by 51mon · · Score: 2, Funny

      Next week they'll sue groklaw for stealing their copyrighted material.

    5. Re:So sue them? by slavemowgli · · Score: 1

      That just may not be copyrightable, either, depending on how much he wrote. If it's a longer text, yes; a few words or a single sentence, no. (Again, IANAL).

      --
      quidquid latine dictum sit altum videtur.
    6. Re:So sue them? by Stephen+Samuel · · Score: 1

      It's a bit of a question for the scanned documents -- although there is some work in that. On the other hand, there's definitely a lot of work (including cognitive) in doing a transcription of a document.

      --
      Free Software: Like love, it grows best when given away.
  10. wwwgorklaw.net??? by Jsutton1027w · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Bad link...

    1. Re:wwwgorklaw.net??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You were actually expecting someone at Slashdot to check facts before putting a story on the front page?

      That's your own damn fault.

  11. Wow.. by grasshoppa · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...they either a) Have some balls. Or b) are dumb as rocks.

    Given their past behavior, I've gotta go with b. For a while, I was expecting ( but certainly not hoping for ) them to pull the rabbit out of their hat and set us all back on our heels. Their claims just seemed too silly not to be justified by *something*.

    Now of course, we've all got a pretty good idea what kind of clowns these really are.

    Still, to steal from groklaw...whew...that's just stunning in my opinion. You gotta respect the lengths these guys will go to.

    --
    Mod me down with all of your hatred and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!
    1. Re:Wow.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

      Still, to steal from groklaw...

      Copyright infringement is not theft. Not when you share music illegally. Not when you distribute GPLed software against its license terms. Not when you copy documents from a website on "our side".

    2. Re:Wow.. by 0x461FAB0BD7D2 · · Score: 1

      Groklaw should put up PDFs of court documents filled with lines of "What the !#@$ do you think you are doing?", signed by Madonna.

    3. Re:Wow.. by iminplaya · · Score: 1

      ...they either a) Have some balls...

      It's called "hutzpa",... "chutzpa",... "chutzpah"...something like that. And boy, they've got plenty of that! Without a doubt. I would call this one of the more comedic events of our times.

      --
      What?
    4. Re:Wow.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When you not only use the works in question, but also try to claim them as your own? That's theft.

      That's like some jerk copying Brittney Spheres music, then claiming he owns the rights to it. One cup melted copyright infringment, two cups diced theft.

    5. Re:Wow.. by mrchaotica · · Score: 1

      That's plagarism. Plagarism isn't theft, as far as I know.

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    6. Re:Wow.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Copyright infringement is not theft.

      And copying public domain court documents isn't copyright infringement.

    7. Re:Wow.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

      And copying public domain court documents isn't copyright infringement.

      Nope. So that's why what Groklaw did is legal.

      What SCO did, however, is copy a specific representation of those court documents that was created by Groklaw. That, on the other hand, is copyright infringement.

      For example, Bach's music is in the public domain. Making your own copies of Bach's music is legal. Copying somebody else's representation of that music is copyright infringement.

    8. Re:Wow.. by Alsee · · Score: 1

      Their claims just seemed too silly not to be justified by *something*.

      The Big Lie.

      [T]he principle - which is quite true in itself - that in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility; because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily; and thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods. It would never come into their heads to fabricate colossal untruths, and they would not believe that others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously. Even though the facts which prove this to be so may be brought clearly to their minds, they will still doubt and waver and will continue to think that there may be some other explanation. -- Mein Kampf

      People more readily fall victim to the big lie than the small lie, to confident and rock-steady claims too silly not to be justified by *something*.

      Hitler was an Evil little Fuck, but he was an insightful Evil little Fuck. If we decline to study and learn from Evil genius we do so at our own peril, for they have some of the most important lessons to teach.

      -

      --
      - - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.
    9. Re:Wow.. by dallaylaen · · Score: 1

      ...they either a) Have some balls. Or b) are dumb as rocks.

      c) are pro-Linux.

      Look:
      - They've sued IBM (instead of sett(l)ing a precedent first with a bunch of weak companies).
      - They've annoyed the judges so that the case would not be won by accident
      - They've robbed MicroSoft
      - They've told everyone that "Linux is like UNIX but for free"
      - They've sponsored /. by providing news => ads revenue.
      - Finally, they're advertizing Groklaw.

      Oh, I've forgotten. They're entertaining Linux/OSS fans, and you know laughter prolongs life! :)

      --
      WYSIWIG, but what you see might not be what you need
    10. Re:Wow.. by Captain_Chaos · · Score: 1

      Copyright infringement is not theft.

      That's a cop-out for people who want to pretend they're doing nothing wrong when sharing music illegally. The moral problem with theft is the same as with copyright infringement, namely taking something without compensating the people who created it and requested to be compensated for it, as is their moral right. Calling that stealing is entirely justified. If you don't agree with the price, or don't think the money goes to the right people, then don't buy it.

    11. Re:Wow.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bite me you twit. There are a few of us out here who do not download illegal copyrighted materials.
      Don't lump us in with the zit-faced amoral teeanagers. You are right, intellectual property cuts both ways.

      Which is a larger loss for video: downloaded video's OR the fact that even the tech illiterate can join NetFlix and clone the media. USPS is basically sneaker-net: great burst bandwidth but latency is long.

    12. Re:Wow.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's a cop-out for people who want to pretend they're doing nothing wrong when sharing music illegally.

      That's funny, because I could have sworn I posted the grandparent in relation to an organisation I don't like who are doing something I consider to be immoral and illegal. I'm not arguing that they aren't stealing because I like SCO, I'm arguing that they aren't stealing because no theft has taken place.

      The moral problem with theft is the same as with copyright infringement

      Different laws, different consequences, different words. Stop playing semantic games and twisting words to suit your political beliefs.

    13. Re:Wow.. by Bloater · · Score: 1

      > That's a cop-out for people who want to pretend they're doing nothing wrong when sharing music illegally.

      No it's not. Murder is not theft, but it's not a cop out for murderers. Copyright infringement is a different thing to theft, but that makes no claim on the relative morality of it.

      Theft is taking a thing from the owner or his/her agent or beneficiary. Copying a file leaves the owner with the original, so it must be a different thing to theft. Eg, I will never buy any of westlife's current albums, so if a made a copy of one, the record label will not have been deprived of the album I took the copy from. Nor would they even have been deprived of income they would have obtained from me, since they would not have had that income anyway. It is still wrong for me to do that, but it is not theft.

      Copyright is a privilege granted to the creator of a valued contribution to cultural development to reimburse them for the expense of making the contribution. It is intended to allow artists to create art without having to rely on their ability to source and supply precious metals and stones with their art engraved/moulded on. It gives the creation of art an intrinsic value in market terms. If you claim that a particular form is property (as opposed to a particular concrete piece) then the contribution to society has little value as society can not build on that art - it only has value as a singular peice of entertainment. If you claim copyright infringement to be theft, then you strip copyright laws of the justification for their very existence.

      > If you don't agree with the price, or don't think the money goes to the right people, then don't buy it.

      If I buy it, then it is my property, so I can do what I want with it and it is impossible for me to steal it from myself. And thus copyright infringement is definately not theft as it is *far* more restrictive (and that is why it has a limited duration, as it would render the art utterly valueless as art, and only allow it a value as entertainment).

  12. Too busy looking over... by SubDude · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I think SCO must be too buy looking over their mountain of discovery proceeds to add a simple attribution to their legal docs website.

    Too busy, too cheap, too lazy... who knows what their excuse.

    Perhaps it is simply that SCO does not want to give credit where credit is due.

    Subdude

    1. Re:Too busy looking over... by utlemming · · Score: 1

      Would you give credit to your arch-enemy? I mean, look at the situation here. Groklaw is anti-SCO. And putting links to Groklaw and TuxRocks, might give attention where they don't want it -- to the enemy. What SCO wants is to look good in their own light, not in the shadows cast by Groklaw or TuxRocks. Even though it is unethical, the people who are going to care are those that read Groklaw or TuxRocks; the pro-SCO people are going to go to a pro-SCO place, and are probably not going to read anti-SCO writings. They are not trying to win over the anti-SCO group, they are trying to convince the small minority that is buying their claims that SCO still has a case. Whenever we see SCO doing something that makes us go, "What the @#$!," just remeber what their goal is, and what our goals are. It is a whole different world-view than what the FOSS community embraces.

      --
      The views expressed are mine own and do not express the views of my employer.
    2. Re:Too busy looking over... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think SCO must be too buy looking over their mountain of discovery proceeds to add a simple attribution to their legal docs website.

      Too busy, too cheap, too lazy... who knows what their excuse.

      Perhaps it is simply that SCO does not want to give credit where credit is due.


      You can hardly call them too busy, cheap or lazy when they took the time and expense to delete the original copyright notices and replace them with their own.

    3. Re:Too busy looking over... by gmack · · Score: 2, Informative

      "I think SCO must be too buy looking over their mountain of discovery proceeds to add a simple attribution to their legal docs website." AFIK one of the court orders states that SCO may not look at any of the code IBM supplies, they need to hire an outside expert to do it.

    4. Re:Too busy looking over... by h4rm0ny · · Score: 1

      the people who are going to care are those that read Groklaw or TuxRocks; the pro-SCO people are going to go to a pro-SCO place, and are probably not going to read anti-SCO writings.

      Of course when these two groups meet, the former will have an advantage in making the latter look like arses because they can point this out to ignorant SCO fans.

      But on a related note, how many SCO fans are there? FOSS is a community. SCO is a business that has investors. /.'ers are more susceptible to anti-SCO propaganda than investors are to pro-SCO literature that is, after all, put out by SCO. I'd say a lot of investors must have wised up by now.

      --

      Aide-toi, le Ciel t'aidera - Jeanne D'Arc.
    5. Re:Too busy looking over... by ebyrob · · Score: 1

      Would you give credit to your arch-enemy?

      No. That's why I wouldn't use their stuff.

      To answer no and then use their stuff anyways? In this day and age? It's just plain, without a doubt, stupid. There's no question whether you'll get caught.

      Then again as a self-interested web developer hired by SCO to put up these documents, and caring nothing about the company whatsoever, I suppose it'd make a sick sort of sense to do this...

    6. Re:Too busy looking over... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful
      Would you give credit to your arch-enemy?

      They're not enemies. Both claim to be motivated primarily by a quest for the truth; and not by any sort of grudge match.

      I think it's nice that these sides are cooperating on helping the truth get out there. By sharing the court documents, everyone is better off in understanding what's going on. I'm not trolling either. I think it's GOOD that SCO is sharing the court documents, and it's an endorsement of how much they trust Groklaw to simply take the Groklaw version without fear of them having been twisted.

      This is one of the first honorable actions I've seen SCO take, and they should be commended for it.

      Unlike O'Gara and Enderle who seem to have a habit of making up random shit for whomever pays them.

    7. Re:Too busy looking over... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      I'm foeing you. There's little more irritating than people who pluralize words like "all" and "anyway".

      This is Slashdot, not some South Carolina ranch-worker bar. Y'all need to start talkin' proper English, y'hear?

  13. Petty by Spazmania · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Oh come on. They didn't give Groklaw credit for scanning the court's documents. Boo hoo.

    Scanning didn't create a derivative work. Scanning added no actual content. Plus, as legal filings they're arguably public domain in the first place in which case they'd still be public domain after scanning.

    Yeah, sure I appreciate the irony of them using the work without recompense. But compared to the ghastly irony of continuing to offer Linux for download from their site this is piddling stuff.

    --
    Moderating "-1, Disagree" is simple censorship. Have the guts to post your opinion.
    1. Re:Petty by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      wouldnt this be the same as photographs? I cant use a photo from Corbis, but I can take a photo of the same thing and use it.

      since these are court documents SCO is entitled to get their own copy and scan it, no to steal it from someone else.

    2. Re:Petty by Zocalo · · Score: 5, Insightful
      Yes, they are court documents the *contents* of which are in the public domain, but that's not the point. Many of those documents have been manually transcribed, proof-read and reformatted into HTML or PDF documents by various volunteer members of the FOSS community, on their own time. Many of those documents are also provided for the good of all, free of charge and any form of licensing agreements/restrictions by their transcribers, so SCO probably hasn't actually infringed any laws, civil or otherwise.

      However, for a company currently in court claiming that the fruits of its labours have been misappropriated to turn around and do exactly the same thing... Well, it's hardly in the best taste is it, even if they are so strapped for cash and/or resources that they don't have the ability to transcribe it themselves. Plus, I wouldn't be at all surprised if IBM's legal team finds a way to let the court know about this to show just how two faced SCO can be.

      SCO shoot themselves in the foot. Again. We'll pass on the film at eleven, and proceed with the scheduled reality show re-run...

      --
      UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
    3. Re:Petty by hendersj · · Score: 4, Interesting

      i-ro-ny: 2. a. Incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs: "Hyde noted the irony of Ireland's copying the nation she most hated" (Richard Kain).

      It is quite ironic that SCO seems to think that only their most holy IP is significant to them. They should clarify that they couldn't give a rat's arse about anyone else's efforts, or they should at least credit people for doing the work they did instead of (perhaps inadvertantly) trying to make it look like they did this themselves.

      --
      Insanity is a gradual process; don't rush it.
    4. Re:Petty by anagama · · Score: 5, Interesting

      • Scanning didn't create a derivative work. Scanning added no actual content. Plus, as legal filings they're arguably public domain in the first place in which case they'd still be public domain after scanning.

      Tell that to Westlaw or Lexis. Both of these companies supply the full text of court decisions, statutes, administrative decesions, etc. etc. All of these are available free at the respective courthouses, gov't offices, libraries where they are stored. Why then would a basic subscription to the state law databases of one state cost around $125 per month? Because the gathering and reformating of this widely dispersed inconveniently printed material has imense value. Westlaw and Lexis do not own the content, but they do own the manner in which it is presented. In a simialr vein, while groklaw doesn't own the content of the documents it has presented, it certainly owns the files it has created.
      --
      What changed under Obama? Nothing Good
    5. Re:Petty by d34thm0nk3y · · Score: 1

      Scanning didn't create a derivative work. Scanning added no actual content. Plus, as legal filings they're arguably public domain in the first place in which case they'd still be public domain after scanning.

      I wonder if this is true. If you remaster a film in the public domain to DVD or something you do get copyright protection on the digital work.

    6. Re:Petty by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, you get copyright on your implementation of the work.

      The movie Night of The Living Dead is now in the public domain. You can download it for free from Archive.org. You can also buy it on DVD.

      If you download NoTLD from Archive.org you can freely share it on P2P networks since Archive.org allows (encourages) that. If you purchase the DVD and distribute that on P2P networks, you'd be breaking the law.

    7. Re:Petty by symbolic · · Score: 1

      Well, it's hardly in the best taste is it, even if they are so strapped for cash and/or resources that they don't have the ability to transcribe it themselves.

      I hear Darl will have a lot of free time soon...maybe he can do it.

    8. Re:Petty by sepluv · · Score: 3, Insightful
      Many of those documents are also provided for the good of all, free of charge and any form of licensing agreements/restrictions by their transcribers, so SCO probably hasn't actually infringed any laws, civil or otherwise.
      Actually any modifications by Groklaw, Tuxrocks and transcribers are not public domain but under a license: creative commons (attribution required, non-commercial use only) and of course there was no attribution. This is probably an extremely minor copyright violation (which the courts would laugh at) but there has been some formatting, conversions, scanning and writing by transcribers on scanned documents by Groklaw et al.
      Well, it's hardly in the best taste is it, even if they are so strapped for cash and/or resources that they don't have the ability to transcribe it themselves.
      It is worse than that. TSG wrote half of the original documents (which the court has put in the public domain) and probably have the other half in a machine-readable form, but chose to use Groklaw's scanned versions on their new lawsuit site--I assume because it is easier to leech off Groklaw than dig up the originals. This is especially ironic as TSG stated that their new lawsuit site is an attempt at countering Groklaw's `lies' and all it contains ATM is stuff copied from Groklaw.
      --
      Joe Llywelyn Griffith Blakesley
      [This post is in the public domain (copyright-free) unless otherwise stated]
    9. Re:Petty by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually any modifications by Groklaw, Tuxrocks and transcribers are not public domain but under a license:

      Wrongo. Groklaw cannot modify ANYTHING in the public domain and then assert any level of ownership,.

    10. Re:Petty by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      If you actually bothered to read the article and PJ's comments, you'd find she wrote this, under the title "Not copyright violation":
      The point is, it's funny. And it's typical. And they are telling folks that the right place to get the documents is from their site, as opposed to Groklaw, yet they get *their* documents from us themselves. It just made me laugh.

      Petty? No, I don't think that's petty. The only pettiness I see here is in your post, with its childish "Boo hoo".
    11. Re:Petty by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Because the gathering and reformating of this widely dispersed inconveniently printed material has imense value.

      Wrongo.

      The PAGE NUMBERS are copyrighted. The reformatting and gathering are not. Because the laws frequently refers to Westlaw PAGE NUMBERS as a kind of shorthand, competitors wanted to use the same numbers.

      And yes, IAAL.

    12. Re:Petty by sepluv · · Score: 1

      Yes, they can assert `ownership' (if by that you mean copyright) to their modifications. Just because one uses a public-domain work in one's new work, it doesn't mean the new work is in the public domain. For instance, even though Shakespeare is long dead, when you buy one of his plays it will probably have a copyright notice which covers the typesetting and compilation. If you photocopy the book and distribute copies, you will violate the publisher's copyright.

      --
      Joe Llywelyn Griffith Blakesley
      [This post is in the public domain (copyright-free) unless otherwise stated]
    13. Re:Petty by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You may be a lawyer, but page numbering is not sufficient, as page numbers are derived from the physical property of the work itself. Anyone reproducing the work with the same page size, margins, spacing, and font would end up with the same page numbers as the result. You might as well claim copyright on a printout of that document, when it weighs 15.42 grams.

    14. Re:Petty by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Scribbling on the edge of a scanned page hardly rises to the legal definition of derivative work. You are right in general, but that does not apply here.

    15. Re:Petty by cpt+kangarooski · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Man, where have you been? The Second Circuit pretty much settled this ages ago. The case you want is this: Matthew Bender & Co. v. West Publ. Co., 158 F.3d 693 (2d Cir. 1998).

      There was a prior 8th Circuit case to the contrary, but Feist pretty much killed it. IIRC, it hasn't been seriously reexamined since in light of the incredible difficulty of claiming that page numbering is original, and the strong public policy and due process arguments.

      --
      -- This and all my posts are in the public domain. I am a lawyer. I am not your lawyer, and this is not legal advice.
    16. Re:Petty by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Many of those documents are also provided for the good of all, free of charge and any form of licensing agreements/restrictions by their transcribers, so SCO probably hasn't actually infringed any laws, civil or otherwise.

      However, for a company currently in court claiming that the fruits of its labours have been misappropriated to turn around and do exactly the same thing...

      You are so retarded. The two situations couldn't be more dissimilar.

    17. Re:Petty by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'd take a slightly different irony out of this. As many have noted, there's not actually anything wrong with what they did. The documents were public, and they were offered for unrestricted use from the people who created them. Attribution would have been nice, but not required.

      However, SCO likes to attack Open Source. They claim that the community can't do anything really worthwhile. If you want something done right, you have to go to the professionals. But (ironically), they seem to appreciate what the Open Source community does for them.

      To SCO: The Open Source community is glad that our services are able to help you. We want our hard work to be appriciated and to accomplish something. However, it would be nice if you didn't spend so much time biting the hand that feeds you. I think it's safe to say that if not for us, you wouldn't be around anymore. Please try to be more appriciative. You could be a much stronger company if you had spent your $30mil supporting us instead of attacking us.

    18. Re:Petty by AssHatAnonymous · · Score: 0

      The moderators on this site are complete morons, or perhaps they are like the editors and just don't actually read the site. But the fact is, it's a recurring theme here that digital copies don't deprive anyone of anything.

    19. Re:Petty by iabervon · · Score: 1

      However, for a company currently in court claiming that the fruits of its labours have been misappropriated to turn around and do exactly the same thing

      Actually, SCO's never claimed in court that the fruits of its labours have been misappropriated. SCO claimed that the fruits of IBM's labour belonged to them, and also claimed that they didn't misappropriate Linux. It is completely in keeping with SCO's position to use Groklaw's work; the only unusual thing is that they haven't yet sued Groklaw for not licensing it exclusively to SCO.

    20. Re:Petty by sepluv · · Score: 1

      To clarify my grandparent comment was meant to be in principal (not saying that there necessarily is a case) and to clarify the confusion of the great-grandparent. In actual fact, after further research I believe that their was no copyright violation in this case under US law (as the modifications were so minor).

      --
      Joe Llywelyn Griffith Blakesley
      [This post is in the public domain (copyright-free) unless otherwise stated]
  14. Eh? by Skiron · · Score: 1

    Said the judge? Eh?

    MS had the same eh?

  15. However...they ARE claiming copyright. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    On the site where they are using Groklaw's and Tuxrock's documents. SCO has claimed copyright of the work.

    So not only have they "borrowed" the work of others instead of doing their own (which apparently may be legal as that they are court documents, or may not be legal since the file itself may be copyrighted although the document cannot be etc... etc... ), they are also claiming copyright on the "borrowed" work.

    Regards,
    Z

    1. Re:However...they ARE claiming copyright. by tonsofpcs · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Thats called plagiarism.

    2. Re:However...they ARE claiming copyright. by iminplaya · · Score: 4, Funny

      ...they are also claiming copyright on the "borrowed" work.

      Isn't that what they're doing with Linux, also? I expect Growlaw to recieve a take down notice anytime now.

      --
      What?
    3. Re:However...they ARE claiming copyright. by AndroidCat · · Score: 1

      I thought the RIAA calls it theft and piracy? ;)

      --
      One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
    4. Re:However...they ARE claiming copyright. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Copyright infringement is one thing... Using other's IP without being liscensed...

      But actually claiming rights to the IP? That's closer to piracy than anything I've ever heard that didn't acutally involve a boat on the ocean, and an eyepatched salty dog. More apt would be to call it "Claim Jumping"...

      Perhaps we can yet see SCO hoisted from the yardarm!

    5. Re:However...they ARE claiming copyright. by tonsofpcs · · Score: 2, Informative

      No, thats just if you take someone else's IP and use it without license, without claiming it to be your own. Plagiarism is taking someone else's IP and claiming that it is yours.

    6. Re:However...they ARE claiming copyright. by MathFox · · Score: 3, Insightful
      I didn't see them claiming copyrights on the works. Furthermore, these are legal documents (half of them produced by TSG's lawyers) and as such "in the public domain". Of course, I'ld love to see attribution of Groklaw, Tuxrocks, PJ or Frank, but I don't think that the current TSG management has the required amount of sportmanship to do so.

      In my opinion it isn't worth to go to court for it; the publicity is a far sweeter reward.

      --
      extern warranty;
      main()
      {
      (void)warranty;
      }
    7. Re:However...they ARE claiming copyright. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      SCO can claim copyright in the contents of the page as presented. That is not the same as claiming copyright in the individual contents of the page.

      SCO is not violating copyright by republishing electronic copies of public court filings, regardless of who made the copies. Transfixing a public (court) document into an electronic form is just that. The original document, if presented without editorial or other comments, is a public document and free for all to use as they see fit.

      The article is a bit disappointing in that someone who has copied publicly and freely available documents into an electronic form is suggesting that he owns (by the change in media) the copyright in their contents. Simply put, the documents are public and he does not have any copyright interest in them. He has nothing to bitch about, and by doing so makes it look as though Groklaw is grasping for straws that don't exist.

    8. Re:However...they ARE claiming copyright. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But the publicity of going to court, or at least sending them a C&D, is well worth it. It will serve as a shining example of these scumbags' self-serving tactics.

      On a little further thought, the C&D needs to be sent and made public, and if they don't comply, sue the hell out of them. Publicity is one thing, but a lawsuit can be used as evidence of their disregard of IP in the IBM suit. It's yet more evidence of their dishonesty. And although it appears this whole mess will never get to a jury trial, if it does, IBM's lawyers can hold this incident up to the jury as evidence of these bastards' true character.

      These scum have declared a nuclear war, so, when you have a nuke of your own, even a small one, use it.

    9. Re:However...they ARE claiming copyright. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Except that Groklaw isn't grasping at any straws. PJ isn't out to sue anyone over it. They are simply pointing out the news that after SCO has disparaged groklaw and made offensive comments about it, SCO used groklaw (amongst other sites) as the source for their legal information. I'm sorry if you're disappointed there's no real bloodlust (except in the commentary by people who are not lawyers and don't understand and aren't in a position to do something about it).

    10. Re:However...they ARE claiming copyright. by SpaceLifeForm · · Score: 1
      Funny and Insightful.

      Time to test the DMCA and send the take down to SCO. But maybe not. I can imagine SCO doing this on purpose just to pull PJ into a distraction.

      A legal troll.

      --
      You are being MICROattacked, from various angles, in a SOFT manner.
    11. Re:However...they ARE claiming copyright. by iminplaya · · Score: 1

      Oh, Christ! Groklaw

      --
      What?
    12. Re:However...they ARE claiming copyright. by mink · · Score: 1

      MRI (Management Recruiters International) calls it a time saver.

      --
      Well I've wrestled with reality for thirty five years doctor, and I'm happy to say I finally won out over it.
  16. That's the 2nd "suicide" in 4 months. by khasim · · Score: 5, Interesting

    1 in December.
    1 in March.
    Both people involved in Canopy.

    Nothing strange or unusual about that. No sir.

    1. Re:That's the 2nd "suicide" in 4 months. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They both killed themselves in the same way, with a shot to the head. Nothing odd about that either.

    2. Re:That's the 2nd "suicide" in 4 months. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      This is getting more and more bizarre.

      A long time ago when this SCO stuff started, I rhetorically asked "when would someone fall out of a helicopter" in reference to the Bre-X scam. (look it up).

      The parallels are remarkable.

      Derek

    3. Re:That's the 2nd "suicide" in 4 months. by Mad_Rain · · Score: 4, Informative

      Well, before you break out the actors from your favorite CSI/Law & Order divisions, some researchers notice that suicides tend to cluster together, and are occassionally thought of as "contagious". That is, people who are close (family, friends, and business associates) have an increased risk of suicide when someone near them commits suicide as well.

      So unless you have some other information about those suicides that makes them look less coincidental, perhaps you should allow the dead to rest instead of furthering a tin-foil hat craze. :)

      --
      "What do you think?" "I think 'What, do you think?!'"
    4. Re:That's the 2nd "suicide" in 4 months. by doorbot.com · · Score: 2, Funny

      Didn't Darl admit he carries a pistol with him at all times? /tinfoil (and bulletproof?) hat

    5. Re:That's the 2nd "suicide" in 4 months. by ebyrob · · Score: 1
      So if she's mentally ill there's a 10% chance it isn't highly coincidental? Not the most encouraging numbers.

      ...perhaps you should allow the dead to rest instead of furthering a tin-foil hat craze...

      I don't see how questioning the fact she actually killed herself can be considered overly critical of the dead. Quite the opposite. I hope (and assume) the police investigated things very closely in this case.

    6. Re:That's the 2nd "suicide" in 4 months. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah. Clusters even more rare than this do tend to show up occasionally.

    7. Re:That's the 2nd "suicide" in 4 months. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually, the official report was she died of a heart attack, which only changed after questioning. I consider it a bad sign when the lying starts right away, and the stakes involve billions, (or as in this case, the entire benefit of mankind).

      Why did they lie? I believe as a matter of faith in God that lying is wrong, and a liar hates those being lied too. According to proverbs:

      Proverbs 26:28
      A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it;

    8. Re:That's the 2nd "suicide" in 4 months. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Back of the head was it?

    9. Re:That's the 2nd "suicide" in 4 months. by Farmer+Tim · · Score: 1

      "...people who are close (family, friends, and business associates) have an increased risk of suicide when someone near them commits suicide as well"

      Just like lemmings.

      --
      Blank until /. makes another boneheaded UI decision.
    10. Re:That's the 2nd "suicide" in 4 months. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And not unlike you - your lack of understanding of people leads you to be a cynical shit.

    11. Re:That's the 2nd "suicide" in 4 months. by S.O.B. · · Score: 1

      Just like lemmings.

      Hate to burst your bubble but lemmings don't commit suicide - http://www.snopes.com/disney/films/lemmings.htm

      --
      Some of what I say is fact, some is conjecture, the rest I'm just blowing out my ass...you guess.
    12. Re:That's the 2nd "suicide" in 4 months. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      if they had both been guys, I would have believed it. But one was a woman which very rarely do suicide by gun.

    13. Re:That's the 2nd "suicide" in 4 months. by Farmer+Tim · · Score: 1

      Actually, I was perfectly aware that it's a myth. Were you perfectly aware it was intended as humour?

      --
      Blank until /. makes another boneheaded UI decision.
    14. Re:That's the 2nd "suicide" in 4 months. by Farmer+Tim · · Score: 1

      "And not unlike you"

      I have never committed suicide in my life...perhaps the logic of the fact that I'm posting eludes you.

      '...your lack of understanding of people leads you to be a cynical shit"

      And you have such an astounding ability to understand people that you can tell just by a 3 word post that I've never known anyone who has committed suicide, and that gives you carte blanche to cast personal insults like some self-righteous jerk? Guess why I'm a cynical shit? Because of humourless "do-good" assholes like yourself, that's why.

      --
      Blank until /. makes another boneheaded UI decision.
    15. Re:That's the 2nd "suicide" in 4 months. by S.O.B. · · Score: 1

      Sorry I wasn't able to deduce your knowledge of the myth or humourous intention from your three word sentence.

      --
      Some of what I say is fact, some is conjecture, the rest I'm just blowing out my ass...you guess.
  17. Get it while you can by Doc+Ruby · · Score: 5, Funny

    Groklaw better sue SCO for copyright infringement, while there's still any money left.

    --

    --
    make install -not war

    1. Re:Get it while you can by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, we (SCO) will sue Groklaw for non-legal publishing of "derivative wok" of court decision. As SCO started the lawsuit in the first place, there is no dispute that we are the primary source of all the court decisions so we own also all related paperwork. In the near future we will try to establish also the ownership of His Honor Judge Kimball's ass as without our motion His Honor would clearly be without his job and no resourves for his life.

      McBride.

  18. Yes Offtopic but...... by slashnik · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Pretty good

    Ecklestone excellent, Piper fit, a little scarey for the kids, but that's how it should be. Son 7 didn't hide behind the sofa but we'll see if he has nigntmares tonight. No Daleks yet but zombified shop window dummies and a man eating, burping wheely bin.

    Best since Tom Baker

    Can't wait for next week

    1. Re:Yes Offtopic but...... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Scary? Naaah... Not really. Now, Google not being the top search engine anymore, not THAT is scary!

      (You got 7 sons? Been busy, haven't you?)

    2. Re:Yes Offtopic but...... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Son 7 didn't hide behind the sofa but we'll see if he has nigntmares tonight.

      If Dr Who didn't do the trick, show him the banned Marmite ads!

    3. Re:Yes Offtopic but...... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Think I'll shutdown and catchup on how the family's doning

      How they're doning? More to the point what are they doning? Kidneys, livers, eyes?

      For the sake of the children step away from Slashdot and go earn a buck.

  19. Plagiarism without Citation by jonathanbearak · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is like doing a research paper in college.

    Let's say I look up some documents on Lexis-Nexus. I have to cite Lexis-Nexis; otherwise it's plagiarism. It doesn't matter where those documents originally came from. My citation must include a reference to Lexis-Nexus saying how I got this information.

    If I don't do this, I've committed plagiarism. I would receive an automatic F and face the possibility of further, much more damaging to myself, ramifications.

    I don't know about how this might play out in the minutae of copyright law, but in academics SCO would be in serious trouble.

    1. Re:Plagiarism without Citation by Ph33r+th3+g(O)at · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Say what? Do you have to cite the library from which you checked out a book you cite, too? Do you have to cite Google if you cite a web resource found that way?

      --
      I too have felt the cold finger of injustice.
    2. Re:Plagiarism without Citation by fishbowl · · Score: 1


      "Say what? Do you have to cite the library from which you checked out a book you cite, too?"

      You are expected to provide enough information for later researchers to corroborate your work. A publication date and author will generally suffice. In the case of journal articles, you usually give the volume of the journal, and these will be cross-referenced when the journals are aggregated.

      --
      -fb Everything not expressly forbidden is now mandatory.
    3. Re:Plagiarism without Citation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A website is not a location, it is a compilation of information and thus would count more under the terms of being encylopedic than librarian.

    4. Re:Plagiarism without Citation by dbIII · · Score: 1
      This is like doing a research paper in college.
      But this is SCO, who submitted stuff late becuase the dog ate their homework.
    5. Re:Plagiarism without Citation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      You don't have to cite nexis-lexis. That's silly. You don't have to cite the library either. You have to cite original work. If you cite an article that you found in the NYT, you don't have to say that you found it on nexis to "help other researchers corroborate your work." I'm sure that they are capable of finding an article in the NYT by themselves. Anyone who cites nexis-lexis (I guess excepting their own demographic research) is too dumb to be writing research papers.

    6. Re:Plagiarism without Citation by goon+america · · Score: 1

      Plagiarism != Piracy

      Plagiarism (not citing your sources) is considered bad practice but it is not illegal. Piracy (copying copyrighted works without permission) is illegal.

      The question here is whether this counts as mere plagiarism (because the court documents are ultimately public domain) or whether it counts as piracy (if Groklaw's display of these public domain works counts as copyrightable). I don't really have a good answer to that question, but the two are definitely not the same thing.

    7. Re:Plagiarism without Citation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you cite an article that you found in the NYT, you don't have to say that you found it on nexis to "help other researchers corroborate your work."

      What if you got it at the newsstand? Would you have to cite "Joe's Newstand, corner of 2nd Ave and 23rd Street"?

    8. Re:Plagiarism without Citation by fishbowl · · Score: 1

      If they have posted court documents, with content unchanged after the transcript, how can the Groklaw people be claiming to be the source? Or has Groklaw altered the court documents, in which case, why would anyone want to present GL's version as authoritative?

      Reading the GL comments, I see the argument is about formatting.

      I don't necessarily buy the notion that a document of public record such as a court transcript, becomes your *intellectual* property just because you typed it in / scanned it / xeroxed it / dictated it, or any such thing. Physical property, yes, but I don't see how it bestows any copyright to you, since there should be *NO* concept of *copyright* on this material in the first place; it is a historical record of a public hearing, not a creative work of art.

      What PJ did, to obtain and transcribe these documents, she did as a service to the country, including the parties to the trial, not as a service to Groklaw.

      --
      -fb Everything not expressly forbidden is now mandatory.
    9. Re:Plagiarism without Citation by fishbowl · · Score: 1

      Another thing I can't understand. To the WORD, these court documents are the most embarrassing thing for SCO that I can imagine.

      Seems like, far from wanting to publicize these documents, they'd want to suppress them as much as possible. No reasonable person reads this stuff and concludes that SCO's case has merit.

      But it would be a tough row to hoe, to make the claim that her documents containing the transcripts of a court case, do not confer a certain amount of rights for use, to a PARTY to that court case.

      SCO hangs itself with its own rope, but a legal challenge to this material might backfire. Take it in more abstract terms, and take the bias against SCO out of the picture. Then try to make the case that you would have to argue *in court* that the party to the case should be punished to any significant degree for using the copies of the transcripts to their case that you have been kind enough to publish on the web.

      Yes, there is an argument that the formatted and published work is under copyright even if the original material is not, but that argument is far from one that would guarantee "whopping bankrupting fines" against SCO.

      Don't be surprised if this turns into a court order against GL to stop publishing this material.

      --
      -fb Everything not expressly forbidden is now mandatory.
    10. Re:Plagiarism without Citation by nietsch · · Score: 1

      Sco already has the documents of their own courtcase, so they have every rigth to use those. If PJ wants to fuck over SCO she should make every document a derived work, which can be copyrigted itself. Add a few comments and sprinkle the original document with some typos and sue SCO if they just remove the comments. But PJ has already stated that GL will not sue them for this, as changing court documents will underminde GL's credibility.

      --
      This space is intentionally staring blankly at you
    11. Re:Plagiarism without Citation by jonadab · · Score: 1

      > Do you have to cite the library from which you checked out a book you cite

      No, but you have to cite the book *you* got the information from. For example,
      if you take something for your introduction out of a dictionary of quotations,
      you have to cite the dictionary of quotations, even though the material came
      ultimately from another source. In a case like that, it's probably enough
      to put the dictionary of quotations on your Works Cited page; you probably
      don't have to put the citation on the quote itself, because most such quotes
      are considered common knowledge. However, if you present information that
      is not considered to be common knowledge, you cite it then and there, e.g.
      with a footnote or an (Author, Page) citation, or whatever the style manual
      you're using calls for.

      --
      Cut that out, or I will ship you to Norilsk in a box.
    12. Re:Plagiarism without Citation by jonadab · · Score: 1

      But, OTOH, I might note that anybody who thinks all web pages should be held to
      the same academic standards as formal research papers is more than slightly
      out of touch. What SCO has done here is ironic only because of the rediculous
      stance they have taken, and because the other sites in question are anti-SCO;
      it would not have the same impact if any random company (say, a manufacturer
      of motor vehicles) found on the web and posted on their own website scans of
      public-domain legal documents related to a court case they're involved in.
      I don't think anybody would bat an eye at that, under normal circumstances.
      It is SCO's particular situation that makes this funny.

      --
      Cut that out, or I will ship you to Norilsk in a box.
  20. it's by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    AT&T found that they were using BSD code without acknowledging it's source

    They weren't acknowledging that it is source?

    Oh, you meant its source.

    Fucking stupid illiterate kids, go to school.

    1. Re:it's by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      She wasn't?

      Was she Darl & MOG's love child?

  21. Modern corporate culture by pg110404 · · Score: 2, Funny

    step
    1 - Steal IP
    2 - ???
    3 - profit

    Sorry, mod me down to redundant if you must. I couldn't help it. I saw content I liked and decided to tweak it and post it as my own....

    BTW, does redundant burn karma?

  22. Re:grammar and spelling TOO by vic128 · · Score: 1, Informative

    (where, having sued Berkley for copyright infringement, AT&T found that they were using BSD code without acknowledging it's source). It's BERKELEY!

  23. There's No IP Here by Royster · · Score: 4, Informative

    Scanning a document does not give a copyright to the person who performs the scan. SCO has done nothing illegal by grabbing these document.

    We rightfully excoriate MSFT and SCO when they make overreaching IP claims. We should be the last ones to make overreaching claims.

    That said, the one thing which makes SCOX's claims look the worse is their own damn filings. By publishing them themselves, they aren't helping themselves in the public eye.

    --
    I have discovered a truly marvelous sig, unfortunately the sig limit is too small to contain i
    1. Re:There's No IP Here by be-fan · · Score: 1

      Scanning a document and posting it to your website does infringe on the original copyright.

      --
      A deep unwavering belief is a sure sign you're missing something...
    2. Re:There's No IP Here by Capt'n+Hector · · Score: 2, Interesting
      Scanning a document does not give a copyright to the person who performs the scan.

      I'm not so sure about that. The details are a bit vague in my mind (I don't remember the details enough to google), but there was a similar case in which some dude painstakingly traveled to a bunch of museums around the world, photographed a fameous artist's works (monet, van gogh, something like that), cropped, stitched, readjusted etc., and presented them on the web. Then, someone copied them onto another website and was sued by the original photographer. Sorry the details are so scarce, perhaps someone remembers this better than I?

      --
      Quid festinatio swallonis est aetherfuga inonusti?
      Africus aut Europaeus?
    3. Re:There's No IP Here by sepluv · · Score: 2, Interesting
      Actually, arguably, it may infringe on the copyright of the scanner too. The reason it does not infringe on the original copyright is because when IBM and TSG put the documents before the court as filings they automatically enter the public domain under US law.

      The real irony is that they wrote the documents but are using Groklaw's scanned versions on their site--I assume because it is more difficult than finding the originals.

      Especially, ironic as this site was their attempt at countering Groklaw's `lies' and all it contains is stuff copied from Groklaw ATM.

      --
      Joe Llywelyn Griffith Blakesley
      [This post is in the public domain (copyright-free) unless otherwise stated]
    4. Re:There's No IP Here by Ryan+Stortz · · Score: 4, Informative
      A few days ago, I was going through the Project Gutenberg FAQ. I forget why, but it covers a few copyright issues with public domain works:

      C.16. How come my paper book of Shakespeare says it's "Copyright 1988"?
      Shakespeare was published long enough ago to be indisputably in the public domain everywhere, so how can a Shakespeare text be copyrighted?

      There are two possibilities:

      1. The author or publisher has changed or edited the text enough to qualify as a "new edition", which gets a "new copyright".

      2. The publisher has added extra material, such as an introduction, critical essays, footnotes, or an index. This extra material is new, and the publisher owns the copyright on it.

      The problem with these practices is that a publisher, having added this copyrighted material, or edited the text even in a minor way, may simply put a copyright notice on the whole book, even though the main part of it--the text itself--is in the public domain! And as time goes on, the number of original surviving books that can be proved to be in the public domain grows smaller and smaller; and meanwhile publishers are cranking out more and more editions that have copyright notices. Eventually it becomes harder and harder to prove that a particular book is in the public domain, since there are few pre-1923 copies available as evidence.


      C.17. What makes a "new copyright"?
      A special case, that isn't quite a new edition, is when someone "marks up" a public domain text in, for example, HTML. Where this happens, the text is in the public domain, but the markup is copyrighted. We've already seen that when an editor adds footnotes to a public domain text, he owns copyright on the footnotes but not on the text: similarly, when he adds markup to the text, he owns copyright on the markup.
      So, basically the formatting, anything additional added, and the general presentation are all copyrighted. I don't visit Groklaw, but I'm sure they made edits, footnotes, and other changes. If SCO included any of those, they'd be violating copyright.
      --
      Bugs are just features that have been fixed.
    5. Re:There's No IP Here by Quila · · Score: 1

      Being a public domain work, the content of the documents is not copyrighted. However, a decent IP lawyer should be able to make a copyright case since they are the ones who fixed the information into its current form. That's why although the Iliad isn't copyrighted, you will see a copyright notice on the book when you buy a copy of it.

      Putting into context of the case that established you can't copyright facts, a phonebook. It was legal to copy all of the information in the phonebook and republished in a separate, unique form. But it would have been illegal to copy it in the form it was fixed by the original phonebook publisher.

    6. Re:There's No IP Here by Royster · · Score: 1

      Most of the filings are PDFs which can be pulled off of PACER. Some filings are paper only. Frank Sorenson went down to the courtroom and paid for copies which he scanned and put up on the web as images stuffed in PDFs -- not OCRed.

      I maintain that no protectable expression was added in scanning a public record into an image file.

      No added footnotes. No cross references. Just images of the documents as they were filed in the court.

      --
      I have discovered a truly marvelous sig, unfortunately the sig limit is too small to contain i
    7. Re:There's No IP Here by Royster · · Score: 1

      Just because there's acopyright notice, dosn't mean that anything included is actually copyrightable. The original greek of the Iliad is public domain. Translation published in the US prior to 1923 are public domain. A contemporary translation is copyrightable.

      We're taking scans of court documents, not transalations of a literary work.

      --
      I have discovered a truly marvelous sig, unfortunately the sig limit is too small to contain i
    8. Re:There's No IP Here by Quila · · Score: 1

      I probably shouldn't have used the Iliad, since there is a translation issue. But my Edgar Allen Poe collection is copyrighted. Not the Poe text within, but the whole product. It would probably be legal to copy every word out of it and reprint it in another form, but that fixed form itself (my book) is copyrighted.

      Look up the phone book case for example. FEIST PUBLICATIONS, INC. v. RURAL TEL. SERVICE CO., 499 U.S. 340 (1991)

    9. Re:There's No IP Here by Royster · · Score: 1

      There's a *claim* of a copyright in your Poe edition.

      I've read Feist. There needs to be creative content for there to be copyright. AN alphabetical listing of names, addresses and phone numbers lacked sufficient originality to be copyrightable. In this case, "selection and arrangement" of the names on the page and the act of typesetting provided no creative content.

      Similarly with your Poe edition, the typesetting and pagination gets them nothing. Even the selection of stories and ordering of them provides such a minimal creative content that any such copyright is non existant.

      WHat is copyrightable is any introductions and or commentary on the stories in your edition. But not the stories themselves.

      --
      I have discovered a truly marvelous sig, unfortunately the sig limit is too small to contain i
    10. Re:There's No IP Here by Royster · · Score: 1

      The scanner dosn't get a copyright. The scan is an unoriginal copy. Making a copy does not vest a copyright in the maker.

      It includes stuff copied from sco.tuxrocks.net which is not Groklaw.

      --
      I have discovered a truly marvelous sig, unfortunately the sig limit is too small to contain i
    11. Re:There's No IP Here by SmurfButcher+Bob · · Score: 1

      The the taking of a paper image and creating a machine displayable format doesn't constitute translation, I'm not sure what does...

      However, this was a scan, which is in effect a photo. Q.v. law on photos of "public works" to find how this should play out. As far as I can tell, copyright may very well apply in this context, even without the translation issue.

      --

      help me i've cloned myself and can't remember which one I am

    12. Re:There's No IP Here by fishbowl · · Score: 2, Interesting


      "Most of the filings are PDFs which can be pulled off of PACER. Some filings are paper only. Frank Sorenson went down to the courtroom and paid for copies which he scanned and put up on the web as images stuffed in PDFs -- not OCRed."

      Did he perform this humble service for the benefit of humanity, or for the benefit of all except one specific party to the case being discussed?

      It is regrettable that his work has ended up being of service to SCO themselves, but then, not one word in these transcripts is favorable to SCO, so why on Earth would they want to present these documents?

      If he wanted to protect against this kind of use, he should have included remarks in the documents of an editorial nature. Perhaps, harshly critical of SCO, so that they would never have simply used the documents in an unmodified form.

      I really don't think it would be an easy case to argue to a judge, that you hold a copyright to a version of a transcript, which can be construed to solely exclude a party to that case which the transcript pertains to, from use or even from distribution.

      --
      -fb Everything not expressly forbidden is now mandatory.
    13. Re:There's No IP Here by fishbowl · · Score: 1

      A much more realistic view on this story is that Groklaw has discovered that the service they provide is not solely of use to the opponents of SCO.

      Either they should be more careful, for example, not posting these neutral documents, or else they should accept their journalistic role as being one of impartiality. If they contained language that was critical of SCO, instead of merely being verbatim transcripts of the hearings, there would never be a problem with SCO using the documents unmodified. Doesn't the PDF format offer some kind of rudimentary DRM?

      Groklaw is anything but a nonbiased source.

      --
      -fb Everything not expressly forbidden is now mandatory.
    14. Re:There's No IP Here by Royster · · Score: 1

      What? Translation involves taking the ideas and expressions i a work and finding a way to make similar expressions in a language with different idioms, vocabulary and verb forms. It is *far* from a mechanical process. Mechanical processes, like Altavista's babelfish and Google's translation tools, provide *poor* translations.

      Yes, a scan is like a photo for the purposes. Read Bridgeman v. Corel. Digital copies of public domain images are not copyrightable works. Scanning a work so as to provide the clearest image adds no creative expression which can be protected. The protectable elements in photos are the posing, the lighting and the camera details like depth of focus, filters and framing. Your vacation snapshot of the Washington monument taken from on line to tour it which is essentially identical to hundreds of thousands of similar photos has a very thin copyright. Someone else's carefully lit and shot nighttime photo taken at just the moment that the full moon is hanging next to the top has substancial copyright protection.

      --
      I have discovered a truly marvelous sig, unfortunately the sig limit is too small to contain i
    15. Re:There's No IP Here by Quila · · Score: 1
      WHat is copyrightable is any introductions and or commentary on the stories in your edition. But not the stories themselves.

      I know the stories aren't copyrighted, just as the court filings aren't copyrighted. My point is I can't take my Poe book (which is only stories), copy it verbatim (not just the text, but everything) and resell it without expecing a legal fight.



      In any case, a copyright claim here would be very thin. There are little or no damages since the work is distributed for free, and there are no statutory damages since the work was not registered. The most it could be is a black eye for SCO in court, maybe some legal fees.

  24. I don't really know anything about copyright, but by mcc · · Score: 1

    Many of those documents have been manually transcribed, proof-read and reformatted into HTML or PDF documents by various volunteer members of the FOSS community, on their own time.

    Now if I'm not mistaken, even things which are public domain, if you "edit" them you can copyright them-- because the document itself is public domain, but the editing, page numbers, etc are.

    No?

  25. Insurance by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Seems to be a popular method of exit at Canopy. Wonder if the insurance for Canopy employees covers suicide.

    1. Re:Insurance by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I wonder if it cover canopic jars for burial?

  26. They kyped the Jargon File, too by Baloo+Ursidae · · Score: 3, Interesting

    SCO thought ESR would just let it fly to use the FUD entry of the Jargon file to further their claims back in 2003. SCO: See also Bzzt! Wrong.

    --
    Help us build a better map!
  27. Re:UK peeps - what do you think of the new Dr. Who by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Worth the wait.

  28. Re:grammar and spelling TOO by kclittle · · Score: 1
    No, no, no! It's "Bezerkeley".

    Class of '76

    --
    Generally, bash is superior to python in those environments where python is not installed.
  29. sco by UlfGabe · · Score: 1

    They just shot themselves in the foot once more.

    First the go out on a limb, asking for 'ALL' of the developmental notes from IBM, and now they steal anothers work.

    Plagarism or not, this is shady, and I Know that i will not do business with them.(I haven't started yet, and never will)

    Say the open source pledge with me,
    "I love Linux and Linus,
    Open source it all,
    Not even a bucket of gold from her Highness,
    will make me stop M$'s fall."

    --
    Check journal for info on Anti-TextBook, an idea by me.
  30. How about linking by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If they're too lazy to create the files themselves, they could have left them at Groklaw and simply linked to them.

  31. Bullet in the head by Tackhead · · Score: 3, Funny
    > [Suicide by means of a self-provided bullet to the head s]eems to be a popular method of exit at Canopy. Wonder if the insurance for Cahopy employees covers suicide.

    Only if factory loads are used.

    If you load your own powder and bullet into the brass before killing yourself, you're infringing on the intellectual property rights of ammunition manufacturers.

    Don't even get me started on who gets sued if it takes two bullets.

    /one ticket please, window seat.

    1. Re:Bullet in the head by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Don't even get me started on who gets sued if it takes two bullets.

      It sounds hard to do, but apparently some suicides do need two bullets in the head. Sounds hard to do to me.

  32. Re:Petty, or Not! by quarkscat · · Score: 1

    This may be more of an indication of just how
    deep the staffing/cash flow problems that the
    SCO Group now finds itself in.

    Doesn't the acquisition of most court documents
    incur (1) a service fee for copies made, or (2)
    the personnel/go-for to go to the courthouse to
    obtain said documents, or (3) both of the above?

    IANAL, and IANALA (IANA Legal Aide), but I think
    that there "would" be some costs associated with
    obtaining court documents, regardless of direct
    involvement in the case at hand.

    Also, while the original court documents would
    be considered to be "public property", the act
    of digitizing (scanning) those documents, OCRing
    them, and indexing them for a digital (PDF) version
    "should" have imparted some additional value-added
    which could earn a separate copyright notice from
    GrokLaw.

    If GrokLaw wanted to press this issue, I would
    think that they would have a sound basis for
    legal action. But like I said before, IANAL.

  33. Re:BREAKING... PAMELA JONES interview... SCO vs Gr by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Terry? Do you mean Terri?

    Sorry, she died 15 years ago.

  34. It's source? by MariaK · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    This is shamelessly off-topic, but I would like for once to see "its" used correctly, or at least not see "it's" used incorrectly, on Slashdot's front page. Just once.

    1. Re:It's source? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So would I, but it won't happen any time soon. I think most Slashdot readers could build particle accelerators from the spare parts in their garages, but they seem quite consistently to trip up on this (and other) grammar rules.

    2. Re:It's source? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful
      This is shamelessly off-topic, but I would like for once to see "its" used correctly

      The ability to communicate clearly is, like the ability to do proper research, not valued highly by the Google generation.

    3. Re:It's source? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      You: This is shamelessly off-topic, but I would like for once to see "its"

      Average Slashdot reader: This is shamelessly off-topic, but I would like for once to see "tits"

    4. Re:It's source? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In informal settings, such as slashdot, there is no reason to spend a long time ensuring that every word in one's post is spelled correctly and used completely properly. As long as the people reading one's post can understand it, one has communicated well. Formal settings *are* different however...

  35. Re:Wow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Groklaw has ripped them off SCO's site, obviously.

    Just look at the pre-metadata (st_ctime; with a Python-script, for example) and you'll see that the SCO-document is way older than the one Groklaw claims to have produced.

  36. Case to be made, but missing the point by Ohreally_factor · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The content isn't copyrighted, but the formatting is copyrighted under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0.

    What does that mean, that the formatting is copyrighted? See this thread, on Groklaw. There are also court cases where the contents of a phone directory were considered public information, but their compilation, formatting, etc., were considered copyrighted. (I'm feeling to lazy to look it up at the moment.)

    Still, does this really rise to the level of a Federal Case? Is it worth it to file suit, or even send a C & D letter?

    At any rate, PJ has made it abundantly clear that she has no intention of pursing this legally. She just finds it very funny, as do I. The people crying for litigation are missing the point.

    --
    It's not offtopic, dumbass. It's orthogonal.
    1. Re:Case to be made, but missing the point by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      At any rate, PJ has made it abundantly clear that she has no intention of pursing this legally.

      Well, duh! That means the man pretending to be PJ would have to admit his real name. You do know there's no real PJ, right? That it's some guy pretending to be a female paralegal, right?

      Aren't you a little suspicious that you've never seen a photo of PJ?

    2. Re:Case to be made, but missing the point by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That means the man pretending to be PJ

      What makes you think it is only one man?

    3. Re:Case to be made, but missing the point by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow, extraordinarily bad deductive reasoning there.

    4. Re:Case to be made, but missing the point by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's pretty common knowledge that there's no "Pamela Jones," bad reasoning or not. Can you prove she exists? Seriously. Just because someone posts to Slashdot with a name of "Adolph Hitler" doesn't mean Mein Fuhrer rose from the grave.

    5. Re:Case to be made, but missing the point by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      "Can you prove she exists?"

      Having met her in person, yes. She has gone to trade conferences, you know.

  37. Error in the article by bruns · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Its www.groklaw.net, not wwwgroklaw.net. Perhaps someone should review the article next time for errors before posting?

    --
    Brielle
    1. Re:Error in the article by Justin205 · · Score: 1

      Its www.groklaw.net, not wwwgroklaw.net. Perhaps someone should review the article next time for errors before posting?

      That's like telling oil and water to mix together on their own.

      --
      "Your effort to remain what you are is what limits you."
  38. Re:grammar and spelling TOO by mbaciarello · · Score: 1

    I heard many SCO execs are suing the University of Berkley , too.

    They just found out their $2,000 honoris causa PhD's or MBA's are not recognized by the United States Department of Education, but only by the New Millennium Accrediting Partnership For Educators Worldwide...

  39. Re:BREAKING... PAMELA JONES interview... SCO vs Gr by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Terri Hatcher is in my thoughts on more than just easter...

  40. What next? by Patrick+Mannion · · Score: 1, Funny
    The next thing will be that they lay copyright claim over this article.

    And then every other SCO lawsuit article.

    Then Slashdot itself.

    Either that, or they'll just have us remove the Caldera logo.

    --
    In America, you spam computers In Soviet Russia, computers spam you!
  41. I hope they sue you ... by crimethinker · · Score: 2, Informative
    [tongue firmly in cheek]

    ... but for a different reason: SCO[tm] is a trademark, not a copyrighted name. You have confused copyright and trademark, so let me help you understand the difference.

    If I write a book titled "SCO[tm] Sucks Donkey Balls," that book is a copyrightable work. Assuming Congress keeps listening to Disney every 10-20 years (as the copyright on Steamboat Mickey is about to expire), copyright will last forever. I believe right now we're at life of the author plus 95 years. The point is that copyright can (theoretically) expire.

    My book title uses a trademarked name, that is "SCO[tm]" That name is a trademark of some donkey-ball-sucking company in Lindon UT that thinks they own the mind of every programmer who ever wrote #include <stdio.h>. Trademarks last FOREVER, or until you don't bother to pursue violations.

    -paul

    --
    Pistol caliber is like religion: everyone has their favourite, and theirs is the only right choice.
    1. Re:I hope they sue you ... by EmptyBuffalo · · Score: 1

      I knew that. Just had a brain fart, and couldn't go back to switch it. Thanks for responding with informative respect rather than just being a smart-ass like certain other people.

      --
      cat life | grep joy >> memory
    2. Re:I hope they sue you ... by T-Ranger · · Score: 1

      To extend that, the reason why copyright exists is to encourage creation of new creative works. The reason why trademarks exist is to reduce market confusion. Since you actually mean the company SCO when you are refering to SCO, there is no confusion.

    3. Re:I hope they sue you ... by Stephen+Samuel · · Score: 1

      The artwork for the logo could (at least in theory), be both copyright and trademarked. See you in court -- and, if you'll excuse the pun, you might end up taking it up the ass...

      --
      Free Software: Like love, it grows best when given away.
  42. Re:Head of Canopy, Noorda's Daughter killed hersel by gmack · · Score: 3, Informative

    That's by Maureen O'Gara. You should never post anything by her as fact.

    She often gets a lot of the facts wrong and in this case the only thing we know for certain is that there has been a death. Maureen is the only one calling it a suicide and everyone has reported that the Noorda family is not releasing any details.

    It may be a suicide or it may not be and we won't know for certain until a real journalist supplies more information.

  43. Literally by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    SCO's financial backing literally took a bullet to the head

    I literally don't think you know the meaning of literally

  44. protector of personal pronouns by bayerwerke · · Score: 1

    Lack of knowledge of an obscure, illogical English language grammar rule qualifies you as illiterate?

    1. Re:protector of personal pronouns by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm with the A/C on this one. I'm not a Grammar Nazi until the error dramatically changes the meaning of the sentence.

    2. Re:protector of personal pronouns by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The fact that a bunch of retards don't know the difference between its and it's hardly makes it obscure. There are plenty of us who do know the difference. Probably more who do than don't.

    3. Re:protector of personal pronouns by bayerwerke · · Score: 1

      I don't see the issue as the difference between 'its' and 'it's' but rather determining whether 'it' is an indefinite or personal pronoun and therefore apply the approriate rule.

  45. Well now you know by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They really DO want nothing more than to just profit off OSS

  46. Re:The use of Groklaw documents may be deliberate. by VidEdit · · Score: 2, Interesting

    It is entirely possible that SCO's use of Groklaw's PDFs is an FU to Groklaw.

    Groklaw is arguing that open-source Linux can't be copyright by SCO for a wide range of reasons. SCO knows that you can't copyright a scan of a public domain document like a legal document, so SCO puts Groklaw in the awkward position of complaining that SCO has "stolen" their property.

    To be sure, SCO is a hypocritical, scummy company based on usurping the IP of other, more generous people, but they are showing that they have a sense of humor, albeit an evil one.

    --
  47. Sue them! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Lets say for about oh.... $5 Billion.

  48. Re:I don't really know anything about copyright, b by 51mon · · Score: 1

    US law is quite subtle on this, because there are safe guards to keep stuff in the public domain once it is placed there (unlike in Europe).

    As such something is required that is "creative", correcting the failing of a automatic character recognition software probably wouldn't count, as I suspect page numbering wouldn't.

    The law to look up pertains to organisations that index US legal judgements, these remain public domain because "indexing" isn't a creative endevour (usually!).

    Any commentary on the original document would of course be copyrighted. Also I think a photo of a public domain document might well be under a new copyright, but that is just the sort of bizarre result of applying distinctions where little or none really exists.

  49. SCO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Sucks
    Cock
    Often

  50. Theft of services by Anomalyst · · Score: 1

    IIWALWIHTFT (If I Were A Lawyer Would I Have Time For This?) Since PJ and the groklaw volunteers spent considerable effort and cash to make these documents available, might SCOXE not be liable for theft of services?

    --
    There is no right to feel safe thru security vaudeville at the expense of everyone's freedom, privacy and tax money.
    1. Re:Theft of services by Dorm41Baggins · · Score: 1

      Not if those services are being provided free of charge to the public. (Unless of course they were to license the distribution of their files with a "free for personal use" clause.)

    2. Re:Theft of services by fishbowl · · Score: 1

      >Since PJ and the groklaw volunteers spent
      >considerable effort and cash to make these documents
      > available, might SCOXE not be liable for theft of
      >services?

      What's the doctrine that allows them to make these documents available for YOUR use, but specifically excludes them from being used by A PARTY TO THE TRIAL of which these are transcripts?

      It's really not the kind of fight you'd want to persue, if you are choosing your fights.

      --
      -fb Everything not expressly forbidden is now mandatory.
  51. costs by www.sorehands.com · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Even if there is costs in producting the documents, those documents are public record, not subject to copyright. There is such thing as a compilation copyright, but that does not apply to the individual documents within the compilation.


    There was a case in Texas, Veeck v. Southern Building Code Congress International that held that there is no copyright in laws. In Bender v. West West claimed copyright on pagination, but the case was never fully dicided as they struck a deal to avoid the question. But, most of the copyright claim was stricken.

    Now, the terms of use is a different stury and may restrict the use of the information gathered from the site.

  52. Re:Petty, or Not! by sepluv · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Well, you would think that TSG would at least use their own copies of their own court filings (that they wrote) instead of scans from Groklaw especially as the trumped their new lawsuits site as a better alternative to Groklaw (and all it has ATM is stuff copied from Groklaw with no attribution). I guess this is indicative of the sort of idiots we are up against.

    --
    Joe Llywelyn Griffith Blakesley
    [This post is in the public domain (copyright-free) unless otherwise stated]
  53. Nefarious plan by SnarfQuest · · Score: 1

    Ok, now what Groklaw needs to do is put up modified documents. The first half is the real document, and the last half is a Brady Bunch script. They will suck it in (too lasy to scan the whole thing), and add it to their site.

    In the court case, you then pull up their site, and quote from their copy of the docuemnt:

    "Marsha! Marsha! Marsha!"

    --
    Who would win this election: Andrew Weiner vs Andrew Weiner's weiner.
  54. Re:A slashdot new low? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    - And now, misspelling Berkeley?

    It is not our fault California misspelt it.

  55. What surprise? by davmoo · · Score: 4, Interesting

    This is no surprise. SCO has bashed Linux and the GPL for several years now, and all that time have been still attempting to sell their products based on Linux and other GPL software. The left hand slams GPL, while the right hand sings the praises.

    Its just further proof that no one at SCO has any idea what the fuck they are doing. I've said it before, I'll say it again...those who can, innovate, those who can't, litigate. And now we can add that those who can't litigate successfully steal from those who can.

    --
    I want a new quote. One that won't spill. One that don't cost too much. Or come in a pill.
  56. Re:ATTENTION MODS: AV is a known troll and liar by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hmmm... lessee. I'm pointing out facts about the user who refers to himself as Amsterdam Vallon, which facts can be verified by simply CLICKING ON HIS USERNAME ON THE PARENT POST, but I should log in to point that out so I can be considered legitimate by some noodge with a UserID > 7e5?

    Here's another fact: I don't give a flying fuck in the Playboy Mansion whether you think there's any purpose for posting A/C besides comic relief. I couldn't care less whether you are laughing or not. The big difference here is that by posting A/C, I'm expressly NOT claiming to have some qualifications that make me a superior source of knowledge (as AV does); I'm pointing out the fact that AV lies about his qualifications in every post, but gets some igmoid dipshit newbie to mod him 'Informative' or 'Insightful' based on who he says he is.

    What I really can't believe that you are trying to tell me how to get my point across better. Here's some tips that you might try, to get your points across better: Spell better. Commas aren't like salt, to be sprinkled about at random. Try to examine facts if any are involved. 'Grammar' isn't your mom's or your dad's mother. Don't post about how Slashdot is "supposed to work" when your UserID shows that you haven't been around long enough to understand how Slashdot is supposed to work.

    And your "-1, Offtopic" mod is only marginally deserved, but that's because there isn't a "-1, Dipshit" mod yet.

    Sheesh. Kids these days.

  57. Terms.... by ebyrob · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Copyright infringement is not theft.

    Ya, and plagiarism is not copyright infringement. Heck in the US, plagiarism isn't even illegal.

    In this case, plagiarism is obvious, infringement would take a court to decide. (It isn't clear whether scans of documents can be copyrighted at this time... They represent effort, but not necessarily creativity. Further, some courts are starting to be careful about allowing loopholes that might "relock" public domain works.)

  58. Re:The use of Groklaw documents may be deliberate. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    This is incorrect on both counts.
    1. Groklaw is arguing not that Linux cannot be copyrighted. It can and is (Look at the source files) Just not by SCO.
    SCO is claiming copyrights based on look and feel. This is not allowed under copyright laws. If they had patents they might have something.

    They don't have the patents.
    They don't have the copyrights ( Novell v. SCO)
    They don't have the trademarks.

    What they do have is greed.
    What they do have is Support from Microsoft.
    What they do have is a severe lack of ethics.

    2. Once a document has been scanned and proofread, it can and is copyrighted by those who do the work. I am aware of atleast one case where the infringers incurred significant legal liabilities. If you think such things cannot be detected, think again. If they have taken them from Groklaw, and falsely claimed copyright, they can easily be sued. If They have not claimed copyright, they may easily have violated the terms of use.

  59. Re:Head of Canopy, Noorda's Daughter killed hersel by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    By all accounts Val Noorda Kreidel was no supporter of SCO or the Ralph Yarro cabal.

    Please do some basic research before you post misleading information about such a terrible tragedy.

  60. "Ca*h*opy" by jx100 · · Score: 1

    ..so how do you misspell while copy/pasting again?

  61. Re:grammar by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Bravo. Good luck, though, trying to convince anyone that spelling matters. After all, "it was obvious what the original poster meant."

  62. We should call their 800 number instead of write. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    1-800-726-8649 is their sales number for SCO source. Perhaps that's the best place to ask.

  63. Transcriptions... by mliikset · · Score: 1

    ... In a magnanimous display of cordiality, PJ and/or transcriptionists should loudly proclaim that SCOX IS GRANTED THE RIGHT TO PUBLISH THESE WORKS IN THEIR ORIGINAL FORM, except that from now on a generic copyright statement would be a good idea, to let these guys look as bad as they act. Just a suggestion

  64. Re:Head of Canopy, Noorda's Daughter killed hersel by SpaceLifeForm · · Score: 2, Informative
    It was 'confirmed' by the county coroner allegedly.

    See the second story here.

    --
    You are being MICROattacked, from various angles, in a SOFT manner.
  65. Appalling behaviour by StuffJustHappens · · Score: 2, Funny

    What SCO is doing is totally obnoxious - after all, imagine what would happen if /. started to use and quote headlines from oth...oh wait!

    --
    --What's this sig thing all about then? Should I have one?
  66. Yawn by MightyMartian · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Is there any reason to even talk about this any more? I mean, is there anybody on the face of the planet, even McBride himself, who seriously thinks that SCO has even the vaguest chance of victory? The only thing that counts is the courtroom, and I doubt there's anyone left on Wallstreet who gives a flying f**k about SCO's FUD anymore.

    --
    The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
  67. Not quite complete at SCO by Quila · · Score: 4, Funny

    I noticed their documents relating to Daimler Chrysler aren't complete. They have quite a few, but seem to have left out the later documents showing WHEN THEY LOST.

    This company is just pathetic.

  68. It all looks bad... by localman · · Score: 4, Insightful

    But unless Darl and his buddies end up dirt poor, this has all been fun and games. That's the beauty of corporations: they can misbehave all they want, and when they are eventually killed, no real person has to suffer any meaningful consequences.

    To beat the dead horse: this is why corporations shouldn't be treated as equal to humans by the law, because they don't play by the same rules and they don't have the same motivations and limitations. It's unbalanced.

    Cheers.

  69. Re:Head of Canopy, Noorda's Daughter killed hersel by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Pretty funny how these vermin get so sick of their own loathesomeness they self-terminate.
    Too bad they don't take their co-criminals with them in a hilarious office bloodbath.

  70. Oh, puh-leeze! by werdna · · Score: 3, Interesting

    It seems that the defenders of the holy IP principle have hoisted the skull and bones.

    You are seriously claiming IP rights in the PDF scan of a public document, or comparing the conduct with the allegation of copyright infringement? Give me a break!

    Either we are trying to provide a public service by making documents available to the public to lend more light than heat, or we are as bad as they are and just blowing smoke. Public service means the public as a whole -- including the bad guys.

    Seriously, by making petty bullshit allegations of wrongdoing for doing the right thing -- disseminating public information -- we lie right down next to the thing we are supposedly demonizing.

    Don't fight battles on the wrong playing fields. You should proudly point out they are beginning to appreciate our virtues, not suggest that they are doing the same thing they accuse us of doing. They aren't, and we're not.

    1. Re:Oh, puh-leeze! by NoWhereMan · · Score: 1
      You should proudly point out they are beginning to appreciate our virtues, not suggest that they are doing the same thing they accuse us of doing.

      That is one way of looking at it. You seem to want to give them credit for decency that I doubt exists. I suggest an alternative explanation exists. Instead of pointing out that they are doing what they accuse us of, I ask if they make up these accusations because their value system accepts this behaviour. I think this is the battlefield that counts. Do they believe it is appropriate to misuse the work of others? The Creative Commons License that Groklaw applies to it's material requires attribution. SCO is using copies without that attribution!

    2. Re:Oh, puh-leeze! by werdna · · Score: 1

      Do they believe it is appropriate to misuse the work of others? The Creative Commons License that Groklaw applies to it's material requires attribution. SCO is using copies without that attribution!

      Look, you just can't have it both ways.

      Either the provider of information gets to define society's use of it by click-wrap agreement, including towel-boy duties if the provider chooses, or they don't. Fair use and first sale rights be damned, the provider defines what is "appropriate" use and "misuse."

      This is a @#$%$#% stupid battlefield, and it will bite the open source technology squarely in the butt. Were the the law and societal norm, free speech on the internet would quickly become a myth. Reviews describing or quoting from matter would become "misuse." Criticism of content would be "misuse." This message in reply to yours would be "misuse."

      Better to limit proprietary rights to things that are protectible, and subject to the limitations provided under the copyright. This becomes the limit of the metes and bounds of what can be licensed, whether with a popular license like GPL or CCL, or otherwise.

      Too many of us have fought too hard for your rights for too long to see you piss it away with ridiculous Jackboot suggestions that the --omigosh are you really suggesting this?????-- use of scanned-in public documents without consent of the scanner is a "misuse?"

      Stupid. S-t-u-p-i-d. Stupid policy. The worst argument we could be making. Awful. Dumb. Makes us the hypocrites dumb. Makes us trivially marginalized dumb. Lose the war dumb.

      Make the argument, if you like, suggesting that you think it is "misuse" to distribute or redistribute scanned public documents. I will fight you tooth and nail, even if I have to defend the likes of SCO. And if, g-d forbid, you might win, I don't ever want to hear any whining about overreaching IP again -- you deserve all the bad policy Hollywood and Mead can lobby for.

    3. Re:Oh, puh-leeze! by NoWhereMan · · Score: 1
      Look, you just can't have it both ways.

      Nothing I said suggests that I want it both ways. Perhaps you need to reread what I wrote. I am just using the current existing framework as a starting point.

      Too many of us have fought too hard for your rights for too long to see you piss it away with ridiculous Jackboot suggestions that the --omigosh are you really suggesting this?????-- use of scanned-in public documents without consent of the scanner is a "misuse?"

      Stupid. S-t-u-p-i-d. Stupid policy. The worst argument we could be making. Awful. Dumb. Makes us the hypocrites dumb. Makes us trivially marginalized dumb. Lose the war dumb.

      Make the argument, if you like, suggesting that you think it is "misuse" to distribute or redistribute scanned public documents. I will fight you tooth and nail, even if I have to defend the likes of SCO.

      I am not pissing anything away. You may think the existing framework is S-t-u-p-i-d but it does exist. I did not attempt to justify the system, I just acknowledge it as a given starting point. There are commercial entities that scan in these documents and sell them. How do they charge for this? The existing framework gives them an ownership interest. If you do not think Groklaw is entitled to that same interest, I suggest you review the way the current legal system works!

    4. Re:Oh, puh-leeze! by werdna · · Score: 1

      There are commercial entities that scan in these documents and sell them. How do they charge for this? The existing framework gives them an ownership interest. If you do not think Groklaw is entitled to that same interest, I suggest you review the way the current legal system works!

      I'm pretty clear how the current legal system works, and I am certain you are mistaken about it. Since Feist, the Supreme Court has made clear that uncopyrighted facts and uncopyrighted works are unprotectable by mere sweat of the brow. You can't protect non-trade secret data without copyright. You can't, I can't, and the people who sell scanned copies can't.

      Why do you pay them? Because you want them, and you don't have them. That's all there is to it. Yes, there are a number of folks who think they are able to finesse the copyright act by using shrink wrap agreements during an act of publication, and yes, the Circuit courts have shown a split on it. This is what the Eighth Circuit is presently deliberating in the Blizzard v. Bnetd case as we speak.

      Groklaw has no enforceable rights here, has not adequately protected such rights it may have in the most optimistic sceneario (which would be a dismal day for the open source community), and those who think otherwise are being disingenuous in the extreme about their beliefes and the benefit of open source software.

    5. Re:Oh, puh-leeze! by NoWhereMan · · Score: 1

      I'm pretty clear how the current legal system works, and I am certain you are mistaken about it. Since Feist, the Supreme Court has made clear that uncopyrighted facts and uncopyrighted works are unprotectable by mere sweat of the brow. You can't protect non-trade secret data without copyright. You can't, I can't, and the people who sell scanned copies can't.

      Why do you pay them? Because you want them, and you don't have them. That's all there is to it.

      That is all well and good, but you did not address the fact that these companies will sue you if you take a file you bought from them and then resell it by undercutting their price. If you want to give a discourse on why the legal system enables them to do this, I am all ears.

      But the point I exhibited in my link, is that SCO is willing to just confiscate the work of others. I think this is the proper battlefield. If SCO is willing to steal the IP of others, it explains why they accuse everyone else of doing it too. I did not try to justify the current system. I see problems with the way it is implemented. I also see the hypocrisy in SCO behaviour. If you can see this hypocrisy, there is no need for you to be pedantic about my choice of words.

    6. Re:Oh, puh-leeze! by werdna · · Score: 1

      That is all well and good, but you did not address the fact that these companies will sue you if you take a file you bought from them and then resell it by undercutting their price.

      Dream on. Of course I addressed it, and your repeating the contrary proposition doesn't make it true.

      They won't sue, because they would lose, possibly facing sanctions. There exists no proprietary interest in a pdf scan of a court document. None. Bupkis. No cause of action, no actionable gripe. None. Get it?

      Your argument is predicated completely on a fantasy.

      There's not a single thing they can do, legally speaking, to prevent republication of these documents.

      The legal basis for this has been spelled out, at length, before. Start with Feist. Review the museum cases. Lament, whine, gripe, but you are just plain wrong.

      If you want to give a discourse on why the legal system enables them to do this, I am all ears.

      It doesn't. Paper doesn't refuse ink, of course, and anybody can file an action any time they want. But rational people won't do it, because tough lawyers like me will grind them into the dirt when they try that.

      But you seem to have this fantasy that court documents for current cases are hard to get, expensive or particularly valuable. Anybody can buy, for pennies, a Pacer account and can get electronic copies of most every document filed in a federal action sent to you by e-mail (actually, just the url to the pdf is mailed to you). You can then take the PDF acquired thereby and publish it and republish it at will.

      A service that tried to provide less rights than that would go quickly out of business, even if they could try to enforce any contractual scheme they try to build around this.

    7. Re:Oh, puh-leeze! by NoWhereMan · · Score: 1
      If you want to give a discourse on why the legal system enables them to do this, I am all ears.

      It doesn't. Paper doesn't refuse ink, of course, and anybody can file an action any time they want. But rational people won't do it, because tough lawyers like me will grind them into the dirt when they try that.

      But you seem to have this fantasy that court documents for current cases are hard to get, expensive or particularly valuable. Anybody can buy, for pennies, a Pacer account and can get electronic copies of most every document filed in a federal action sent to you by e-mail (actually, just the url to the pdf is mailed to you). You can then take the PDF acquired thereby and publish it and republish it at will.

      I need to find a ticket to the world you live in. You talk about rational people and lawyers suffering sanctions. I cannot offer direct experience to contradict your rosy outlook. In my fantasy world the lawyers do not have such glowing reputations ;-)

    8. Re:Oh, puh-leeze! by werdna · · Score: 1

      So you don't like lawyers -- what bearing does that have on the falseness of your proposition that the law permits a company to sue a person who publishes a PDF of a court document, merely because the company originally scanned the document? I suppose if you can't win a debate on the merits, and can't keep your words in your pants, this would be the best you can do. Anyway, as noted above, that proposition in your prior message, before you shifted and backpedaled, is unfounded and false.

      Neither Groklaw nor Mead Data Central own judiical or any other public records. No cause of action exists for its "misappropriation." Neither are these records rare or hard to get for anybody who wants to try. If Groklaw can't stand them being used without its permission, its sole recourse is not to publish them. Duh.

      It is hypocrisy in the extreme for Groklaw supporters who claim to appreciate IP minimalism to argue otherwise. Such a policy, were it the law, would be bad for IP policy, and bad for America

      Now, in view of your last missive, it is clear that you are unperturbed by either the facts or the law -- and will continue in your tirade here regardless. So be it. Having made the point, this will be my last post in this thread.

      The point is simply this:

      Don't tread on my IP policy -- what you propose is not the law, and if it were, it would be worse, and far more radical, than even what SCO demands.

  71. Darl, you're at it again. by rice_burners_suck · · Score: 2, Interesting
    It seems that the defenders of the holy IP principle have hoisted the skull and bones.

    If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times: I firmly believe that when SCO was Caldera and Caldera was developing Linux, contributing to Linux, and open sourcing some of their proprietary software, a lot of stuff that was used in their proprietary code was placed in Linux, and a lot of stuff that was in Linux was then placed in their proprietary software.

    In other words, the programmers there had access to the source for both systems, and instead of reinventing things that already existed on one system for implementation in the other, they copied and pasted, perhaps making some modifications in the process. I firmly believe that this company did not keep a record of what was copied and in which direction.

    Then, Caldera became SCO. Then, some idiot named Darl looked at Linux code, saw something that looked strikingly similar to SCO code, and jumped to the conclusion that it must mean that proprietary SCO code was illegally copied into Linux. Since IBM had access to SCO code, this was proof, in Darl's crooked mind, that IBM illegally copied SCO code into Linux.

    He didn't consider the following possibilities:

    1. Linux code originally developed by--and belonging to--the community was illegally copied into SCO code. Darl assumed that any code present in both systems was originally developed at SCO and illegally copied into Linux.
    2. SCO code originally developed by SCO or some company it bought in the past was contributed by SCO into Linux. Darl assumed that any code present in both systems was originally developed at SCO and illegally copied into Linux.
    3. Code developed by parties who created *BSD--or by other parties not affiliated with SCO or with the Linux community--was illegally copied by SCO into SCO code, and this copying was later forgiven by the rightful copyright owners when it was discovered that both parties mutually copied from each other. Similar or identical code was later copied from open source projects such as the *BSDs into Linux. This may or may not be proper, depending on the rightful owner's wishes, but SCO never had rightful ownership of this code, and therefore was never wronged by its presence in Linux. Darl assumed that any code present in both systems was originally developed at SCO and illegally copied into Linux.
    I am not surprised at all that SCO is doing this thing with Groklaw's content. I'd give it a few weeks, and you'll see SCO suing Groklaw for copying SCO's copyright-protected text off SCO's webpage...
  72. Get a 'Clue'... by Chordonblue · · Score: 4, Funny

    "Yarro, who will remain on SCO board, according to SCO CEO Darl McBride, was replaced at Canopy by Bill Mustard. Mustard was believed to be taking his instructions from Ms. Kreidel."

    Ah HA! It was Mr. Mustard at Canopy with the Revolver!

    --
    "...Well, there's egg and bacon; egg sausage and bacon; egg and spam; egg bacon and spam; egg bacon sausage and spam..."
    1. Re:Get a 'Clue'... by joranbelar · · Score: 1

      That's "Colonel Mustard", you insensitive clod!

  73. You have to site Lexis-Nexus UNLESS... by Dorm41Baggins · · Score: 1
    you subsequently obtain a copy of the original publication. This is true of all collections of works including encyclopedias and anthologies, not just online databases.

    Check out the MLA Handbook sometime for examples of the extensive citations required of articles reprinted in other sources.

    I can only theorize the reasoning behind this is that if you obtain your source second-hand, it's possible there may be errors (or even intentional changes!) in the reprinting and any future researcher would need to be able to find these variations in order to verify your credibility as a researcher.

    After all, if "Hank's Encyclopedia" quotes Lincoln as having said in his inaugural address, "We gonna go free 'tem niggahs!!!" and you cite this in your paper as being directly from the address instead of from Hank's copy of the address, you just assumed responsibility for fabricating a falsehood rather than innocently (if moronically) propagating one.

    1. Re:You have to site Lexis-Nexus UNLESS... by Ph33r+th3+g(O)at · · Score: 1

      Thank you--that was the answer I was looking for. Now it makes sense to me.

      --
      I too have felt the cold finger of injustice.
  74. Read up on some history by leonbrooks · · Score: 1

    The Polskas have to have a sense of humour. Couldn't have survived what they have survived without it.

    --
    Got time? Spend some of it coding or testing
  75. Mod parent up! by swillden · · Score: 1

    That would be funny on so many different levels.

    --
    Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
  76. Val Noorda Kreidel shows Darl McBribe the Way! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Val Noorda Kreidel killed herself ... a divout Moremun.

    We emplore, Darl McBride, XO of SCOXE, to follow suite, take
    a gun, loaded, cock the trigger, point at head, pull trigger ...

    This is the only way out for ex-male prostitute, ex-K-Mart
    check-out-clerk turned XO Darl McBride can follow.

    3 million Buddhitst in China and Tibet are now sitting in
    unison, in a do-or-die chant emploring Darl McBride
    to take the "suiside solution" once and for all.

    Darl ... are your there? .... are you reading? ... its not that
    hard! ... pick up the gun! ... cock the trigger! ... point
    the gun to your head! ... pull the trigger! ... come on
    Darl baby! ... listen to Momy! ... Momy knows whats best! ...
    Darl loves Momy! ... Darl wants to do what Momy wants! ...
    Darl must do what Momy wants ... PULL the TRIGGER
    STUPID!

    Toodles!

  77. Stranger yet by WindBourne · · Score: 1

    She was a devout Mormon. I would give a next to zero chance of this being a suicide. I hope that her father spends some good money and calls in investigators.

    --
    I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
  78. Take someone else's IP by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You better not steal my IP. I pay good money every month for that address.

  79. Re:Head of Canopy, Noorda's Daughter killed hersel by mcleodnine · · Score: 1
    Maureen is the only one calling it a suicide

    Maureen was the one who called it a heart attack. It was only after a couple of Yahoo! Finance message board regulars started making phone calls (it's called "fact checking") to the county coroner's office that the suicide came to light. After this news made the rounds on forums and blogs, the family made a request "... that their privacy and the privacy of the Kreidel family in their time of grief be respected."

    It was only after the suicide story started making the rounds that she changed her tune, saying that she was calling it a heart attack to protect the family, after which she had a few chioce words for those who actually got the scoop. Followed now by her revelation that it's a suicide. Journalism? Hardly.
    --
    one better than mcleodeight
  80. Re:BREAKING... PAMELA JONES interview... SCO vs Gr by dtfinch · · Score: 2, Funny

    (Score:-1, Interesting)

    You don't see that everyday

  81. Re:Head of Canopy, Noorda's Daughter killed hersel by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Sounds mob related. Or like it. So who are killing these people to cover up?

    Of course, the Mormon connection with Hatch being one of the leading proponents of draconian copyright laws is also interesting.

  82. Re:Petty [winhat] by winhat · · Score: 0

    It is what people think of that, but then again just about anything at all (like myself) so lets just forget the whole thing up. Oh and also, if you really want to make a stand for what we understand to be here. If you're not giving me any credit for scanning the court's documents. I use openbsd because i have a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be obvious from my ability do enjoy `dung beetle.

    I work for a large company and the one that we never talk about something a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be obvious from my ability to take that from us; we are strong. If by yes; you mean no, then yes i agree! What thats confusing, hold on a short-term scale, but ultimately, they're just masking the real problem, which can only be solved by the beasts of the content and that i haven't had the strangest dream... I dreamed i killed you again. We should declare war on north vietnam. We could pave the whole country and put parking strips on it, and still be public domain in the first to cross the atlantic from newfoundland to ireland!

    Without understanding what are we? I beg you to try it on your shoes? Lucky for you i have a very easy job. The kind robots will be an important factor in the human body. The brain is the force of attraction between two objects resulting from their site this is piddling stuff.

  83. Insignificant. See Bender v. West Publishing. by Jamesday · · Score: 2, Informative
    The writing involved is insignificant. It's all been thoroughly explored in Feist v. Rural (the phone directory case). The article also covers Matthew Bender v. West publishing Co. (a legal publisher, denied copyright on its numbering and organising schemes for public domain legal writing). Also Assessment Technologies v. WIREdata, which ruled that a copyright holder in a compilation of public domain data cannot use that copyright to prevent others from using the underlying public domain data, but may only restrict the specific format of the compilation, if that format is itself sufficiently creative. A scan won't be sufficiently creative.

    SCO is simply a Bender and is fully entitled to do as it has done.

    Forget a takedown notice as well. The documents are public domain and there are penalties (including legal fees) for filing a false DMCA takedown notice.

    It's amusing, but that's all it is.

    Do read the WIREdata (PDF) decision. It's an excellent and readable decision giving an overview of the principles and key cases involved.

    1. Re:Insignificant. See Bender v. West Publishing. by sepluv · · Score: 1
      Thanks. That is interesting. (I understand that the position would probably be different in UK, where I am, though.)

      Not, of course, that I was actually suggesting legal action be taken over such a petty thing; that would be stooping to their level.

      --
      Joe Llywelyn Griffith Blakesley
      [This post is in the public domain (copyright-free) unless otherwise stated]
  84. It's not Groklaw's content. It's the court's. by Animats · · Score: 1
    Scanning or copyrighting a document or picture does not create new copyrightable content. (Bridgeman vs. Corel.)

    Putting legal documents in a database does not create new copyrightable content, although adding additional information may. But you can remove that information and the result is not copyrightable. (West Publishing.)

    Mere records of facts are not copyrightable. (Feist vs. Rural Telephone).

    There is no "sweat of the brow" copyright in US law. Originality is required. "The standard of originality is low, but it exists" - U.S. Supreme Court in Feist.

  85. While we're on language... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Perhaps you should take the time to learn another adverb or two. Perhaps "inexcusably" stupid doesn't quite fit what you were attempting to say, but using "F*cking" as a meta-adverb any time the negative sense is required is, to put it much more eloquently than you, fascinatingly boorish.

  86. Re:Petty [winhat] by fm6 · · Score: 1

    You're a bot. And a pretty goody one. Care to share your source code?

  87. Wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Beethoven's 5th Symphony may be public domain, but you are still running afoul of copyright law if you copy a modern recording of it (assuming it is copyrighted by the creator).

    Collections of facts are indeed copyright able - references, dictionaries, encylcopedias, etc. all contain unoriginal facts but they are original compilations and thus are copyrightable.

    I love it when psuedo-lawyers preach from behind the keyboard here on Slashdot.

    1. Re:Wrong by MikeBabcock · · Score: 1

      The Beethoven example is only true because the *performance* is Copyright.

      --
      - Michael T. Babcock (Yes, I blog)
  88. Missed opportunity? by PhotoBoy · · Score: 1

    Surely Groklaw could have had some fun with this and made minor alterations to all their documents so that SCO turned up to court armed with all the wrong information and made even bigger asses of themselves?

  89. Re:Wow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Clearly in a persistent vegetative state (possibly Utah).

  90. It is pretty close by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    because SCO haev plagiarised. Taken work someone else has done and said it was their own (hmm, where have I heard that before..?).

    More than mere infringement of copy rights has occurred.

  91. Another case where even the editor... by bwcbwc · · Score: 1

    didn't RTFA. SCO copied pdf scans that Groklaw and TuxRocks member had made of public domain court documents. The court documents are not copyrightable. They didn't copy any of Groklaw's own material, so any copyright infringement would be almost as convoluted as SCO's claim of infringement against IBM.

    --
    We are the 198 proof..
  92. SCO and Copyrights by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm posting anonymously only because I don't want to risk my site being slash-dotted.. so if anyone reading this happens to be aware of the details here, please don't publish my name or site, thanks.

    SCO publishes an email newsletter they send out to their resellers. A few months ago, they used an aricle from my website as part of that newsletter.

    That's OK: just about everything I write is under a Creative Commons license, and all I ask is attribution. They attributed it all right, but to someone else :-)

    Well, naturally I was a bit pissed and complained to the organization who was attributed as the author. They weaseled a bit and said they got it from one of their members. I contacted him, he apologized, it wasn't supposed to be attributed to him, he had just passed it on, blah, blah. He and the organization he had contributed it through then apologized publicly, and said that SCO would fix the attribution and publish an apology in their next newsletter. They fixed the attribution on their website copy of the newsletter, but never apologized to me and never made a corrective note in any subsequent newsletter.

    So: X contributes my article to Y who passes it to SCO. Nobody admits stripping my copyrights but somebody obviously did. There's some grousing by Y that other copies of the same article exist unattributed on the web, but X says HE knew where it came from and didn't intend to hide that. So that seems to put that idea to bed.

    As a side note, in the course of this, I noticed that organization Y still listed me as a member even though I had stopped paying dues to them long ago. That ticked me off a bit too because I'm a bit more "famous" than they are and I felt posting my name as a member was an implied endorsement that I do not want to make, and I said so - loudly :-)

    It all still ticks me off, but of course not enough to do any more about it. I dragged the company who contributed it over the coals in the newsgroups, so I feel they got punished, and of course it wasn't really SCO's fault - they may have not even known that it was mine, however, I don't know that for sure: SOMEBODY stripped out my copyrights, and nobody but nobody ever said who did or why, other than the initial attempt to say that it was found unattributed, though that was disproved by X.

    I felt like I deserved more than that: that whoever stripped off my copyright notice should admit being a theiving piece of scum, and that ALL parties involved should have apologized. They all did apologize, except SCO.. and since none of the other folk admit to stripping my copyright, it's certainly reasonable for me to at least wonder if it was SCO. Again, probably not, but if they gave a damn at all they would have contacted me and told me what happened from their point of view.

    X sent me an expensive fruit basket and a note of apology in addition to email and newsgroup apologies. Organization Y made a grudging newsgroup apology after trying to weasel out of it, and did remove my name from their membership listings.

    SCO made no apology. I'm left feeling X is an OK guy, organization Y is a bit weasely, and SCO has no manners at all.

    Nothing earth-shaking, just a tiny pixel in the big picture..

  93. Suicide? by Stephen+Samuel · · Score: 1
    It being against their religion hasn't stopped a lot of devoutly religious people from committing suicide -- including priests.

    It takes a pretty whacked-out state to even consider suicide. That it's against their religioon (and would doom you to eternal damnation or some equivalent) may stop some (and/or help people talk would-be suicides out of it) -- especially if the person is on the edge. For a person who's really far gone, on the other hand, eternal damnation may seem preferable to whatever state they're in (yeah, seriously whacked).

    That having been said, there's way too much at stake here for anybody to presume that these two apparent suicides are what they appear to be. An apparent suicide would be a far-too-convenient way to throw the cops off of a murder investigation.
    This wouldn't be the first time a suicide was faked.

    --
    Free Software: Like love, it grows best when given away.
    1. Re:Suicide? by WindBourne · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Back in the early 80's, I was an EMT. I have seen far too many catholics commit suicide. I have never seen a suicide by a mormon (jack mormon, yes, but not by a practicing), even though I was in "little utah" territory.

      I agree that it is possible for a religious person to commit suicide (esp. with so much pressure to do what the church and others believe is the right way to do things). But ....

      --
      I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
  94. Re:Wow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What are you, a moron? The SCO site just went up. The Groklaw docs have been on Groklaw for a long time.

  95. Re:Head of Canopy, Noorda's Daughter killed hersel by darkonc · · Score: 1

    Great! A story by Maureen O'Garra "confirmed" by a Red Herring. How do we know that they're not one and the same?
    :-)

    --
    Sometimes boldness is in fashion. Sometimes only the brave will be bold.
  96. Re:Head of Canopy, Noorda's Daughter killed hersel by SunFan · · Score: 1

    Yahoo! Finance message board regulars

    Are these the same lovely daytraders who keep posting nonsense and spam to every Yahoo! Finance message board rendering them completely useless for anything but cheap entertainment?

    --
    -- Microsoft is the most expensive commodity operating system and office suite vendor in the marketplace.
  97. Who answers their "contact us" box? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hey, I thought we all heard SCO had downsized just about everyone but Darl out of the company.

    Isn't that probably why they are stealing content from other sites now--they don't have anybody left to write their own copy?

  98. Re:Head of Canopy, Noorda's Daughter killed hersel by Stephen+Samuel · · Score: 1

    I can't speak for the rest of the Yahoo! boards, but The SCOX board apparently had a reasonably reputation at Groklaw.. The few times I was there I saw a pretty varied mix of opinions. Most seemed to think Darl was full of it, but there were a few pro-sco diehards (this was back when SCO's case wasn't obviously dead in the water).

    --
    Free Software: Like love, it grows best when given away.