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IP Attorney - Why SCO Has No Case

Posted by Zonk on from the we-who-may-be-about-to-die dept.

OSS_ilation writes "In an interview over at SearchOpenSource.com, IP attorney Thomas Carey shoots down SCO's cases against IBM and Novell, but predicts that SCO will fight a losing battle to its last. IT directors shouldn't worry about SCO Group's latest sallies in its legal war on Linux vendors IBM Corp. and Novell Inc., Clarey says, and explains why SCO has no case, predicts the open source legal fields of battle for 2006 and discusses SCO's claims against Novell. Carey chairs the Business Practice Group of Bromberg & Sunstein LLP, an intellectual property law practice in Boston, Mass." Groklaw, as always, has additional details and commentary on this.

10 of 138 comments (clear)

  1. Everybody knows that... by bubulubugoth · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The question is: Why is taking so long to the court to dismiss the case?

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    Â_Â
    1. Re:Everybody knows that... by temojen · · Score: 4, Insightful

      To prevent a flood of appeals.

    2. Re:Everybody knows that... by LWATCDR · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Because everyone is entitled to their day in court. Unless the case is totally without merit it has to go to a jury.
      You know that entitled to be judged by a jury of your peers.
      Dismissed nothing. I just want it to go to trial.

      --
      See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
    3. Re:Everybody knows that... by Billosaur · · Score: 2, Insightful
      Unless the case is totally without merit it has to go to a jury.

      'Nuff said.

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      GetOuttaMySpace - The Anti-Social Network
    4. Re:Everybody knows that... by Mostly+a+lurker · · Score: 5, Insightful
      Why is taking so long to the court to dismiss the case?

      This question reveals a common misunderstanding about the function of the US legal system, especially in civil matters.

      The legal system is primarily designed to make money for the legal profession. Once litigation is concluded, the lawyers stop receiving money. Read Bleak House by Charles Dickens and realise that, while certain details have changed, the general situation remains the same.

      Unfortunately, I am serious. Many members of Congress are lawyers and they ensure laws are framed to maximise the profession's profits. Logical reforms never see the light of day.

    5. Re:Everybody knows that... by Shadow+Wrought · · Score: 2, Insightful

      And that's the rub. A good attorney can make a meritless case look like one with merits- agreta attorney can then go on to win. I've seen it, too. It won't happen in this case, but as long as SCO can maintain a veil of reasonable merits, the case will continue.

      --
      If brevity is the soul of wit, then how does one explain Twitter?
    6. Re:Everybody knows that... by Frodo420024 · · Score: 2, Insightful
      The question is: Why is taking so long to the court to dismiss the case?

      Because noone wants it to. SCO wants to drag on as long as possible, and as long as they can claim any possible wrongdoing, they get to do this.

      IBM, and the Open Source community, would like a clean court victory on the issue of Linux copyrights. They have no hurry to have it thrown out of court either.

      My prediction, though, is that the case will collapse just before a final judgement can be entered. Either SCO quits, or they're permitted to go bancrupt. It was quite telling how they just managed to get another $10 million of capital recently, or they would have no chance to make it to trial. But rather than losing the trial, the money will probably run out. One may wonder who invests in this company, but I'll leave that to our conspiracy experts :)

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      I'm in a Unix state of mind.
  2. Well I hate to say it... by tekiegreg · · Score: 2, Insightful

    "Nothing to see here people, please move along" While the lawyer in the article states the same point made over and over by so many experts in the field outside of SCO, to the point where it would get a redundant mod on Slashdot, the article does good job of bringing many key points home for non-lawyer types to understand. If you understand the full breadth of the SCO case you probably won't find much entertainment here however.

    But all the same, SCO quit it, you're embarassing yourselves. Soon it will be beyond the hope of recovery...

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    ...in bed
  3. Time to move to the other targets by IamGarageGuy+2 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Time to start finding out the real reasons for this happening. The investors that have been pumping money into SCO knowing full well there is no merit to the case. This deserves an investigation. I can't think of any investors, even the most dim-witted that would put money into propping up this boondoggle unless there is another motive involved. The old adage of follow the money comes to mind.

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    Stay tuned for new sig...
  4. Re:Clearly Clarey is not Carey by Mostly+a+lurker · · Score: 3, Insightful
    SCO is fighting this losing battle for what?

    You must distinguish (1) why they started the war, from (2) why they are still fighting in spite of the fact that they are clearly losing.

    They started the war, with their business otherwise failing, as a gamble. They hoped for a quick settlement or a buyout from IBM to avoid the expense of litigation and potential damage to the Linux business. In that, they miscalculated, but may have felt they had little to lose anyway. The major miscalculation will be if individuals end up going to jail for perpetrating this clear scam. We shall need to wait about 10 years to know the answer to that question.

    Why do they continue to fight now, when it is clear they are going to lose? Quite simply, to delay the total dismemberment of their business. The counterclaims in the IBM case, the claims for damages in the Red Hat case, and handing over the bulk of the revenues from the SCO Source scam to Novell are going to bankrupt SCO many times over. Meanwhile, management continues to make money from their salaries and probably other opportunities.