Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

SCO v. IBM Is Officially Reopened

Posted by timothy on from the living-dead-sequel dept.

stoilis writes "Groklaw reports that the SCO vs IBM case is officially reopened: 'The thing that makes predictions a bit murky is that there are some other motions, aside from the summary judgment motions, that were also not officially decided before SCO filed for bankruptcy that could, in SCO's perfect world, reopen certain matters. I believe they would have been denied, if the prior judge had had time to rule on them. Now? I don't know.'"

71 of 104 comments (clear)

  1. Braaaaaaaiiiinnns! by sjames · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Can't this just die already?

    1. Re:Braaaaaaaiiiinnns! by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 5, Funny

      Come on, a Congressman has admitted that Snowden isn't lying. The universe had to do something to restore the cosmic balance, didn't it?

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    2. Re:Braaaaaaaiiiinnns! by PolygamousRanchKid+ · · Score: 5, Interesting

      If Bill Gates is now looking for redemption with his foundation . . . this is one disease that he should eradicate.

      --
      Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
    3. Re:Braaaaaaaiiiinnns! by Vlad_the_Inhaler · · Score: 1

      Somebody hammer a stake through that vampire's heart. Hell - Full Moon is *next* Sunday.

      --
      Mielipiteet omiani - Opinions personal, facts suspect.
    4. Re:Braaaaaaaiiiinnns! by Black+Parrot · · Score: 3, Funny

      Can't this just die already?

      What did you want, a vampire teen romance? A Star Wars pre-prequel? Another Superman movie?

      --
      Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
    5. Re:Braaaaaaaiiiinnns! by confused+one · · Score: 1

      This is one of those zombies that won't quit with a simple hit on the noggin. It's the kind you have to burn to ash, then scatter the ashes to the wind so that the ash won't try to reform a body and come after you. Hopefully, the courts will completely resolve all the claims in the case this round. It's not worth the legal cost; but, IBM should stand its ground and go after all the assets of SCO.

    6. Re:Braaaaaaaiiiinnns! by houghi · · Score: 1

      Nuke the entire planet from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

      --
      Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
    7. Re:Braaaaaaaiiiinnns! by jamstar7 · · Score: 1

      WHAT assets? Darl et al already spent the assets. There's nothing left, not even dust under the desks.

      --
      Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step on the path to true panic.
    8. Re:Braaaaaaaiiiinnns! by cold+fjord · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I thought the thinking was that he had helped give this life? Why would he destroy his own creation? After all, he did nothing about Microsoft's monstrosities.

      --
      much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
    9. Re:Braaaaaaaiiiinnns! by b4upoo · · Score: 1

      SCO must be like that slave girl in the dungeon. She just can not get hurt enough. Anything short of whacking off the heads of SCO management just won't give them relief.

    10. Re:Braaaaaaaiiiinnns! by confused+one · · Score: 1

      Any and all IP which they claim to own. Patents, trademarks, copyrights, licenses, source, legal documentation, real assets, anything that can be registered to have value and used in future court cases. Every scrap of paper. Every disk. All of it. Then lock it in a vault labelled "Danger -- Zombies -- Do NOT Open"

    11. Re:Braaaaaaaiiiinnns! by eclectro · · Score: 1

      My suggested tag for this story;

      diediedie

      --
      Take the cheese to sickbay, the doctor should see it as soon as possible - B'Elanna Torres, "Learning Curve"
    12. Re:Braaaaaaaiiiinnns! by symbolset · · Score: 1

      There are many years left on this story.

      --
      Help stamp out iliturcy.
    13. Re:Braaaaaaaiiiinnns! by Grishnakh · · Score: 1

      How about another Spider-Man reboot? It's only been a year or two since the last one. Or how about a new Batman reboot? A Twilight reboot sounds like a good idea too.

    14. Re:Braaaaaaaiiiinnns! by JabrTheHut · · Score: 1

      Any and all IP which they claim to own. Patents, trademarks, copyrights, licenses, source, legal documentation, real assets, anything that can be registered to have value and used in future court cases. Every scrap of paper. Every disk. All of it. Then lock it in a vault labelled "Danger -- Zombies -- Do NOT Open"

      No. Open source the code under the BSD license. Let the world do with the source code as they will, and then it will die forever...

      --
      Work like no one is watching. Dance like you've never been hurt. Make love like you don't need the money.
    15. Re:Braaaaaaaiiiinnns! by Chrisq · · Score: 1

      Nuke the entire planet from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

      You know if SCO rises from the dead one more time I might see this as the best option.

    16. Re:Braaaaaaaiiiinnns! by Shirley+Marquez · · Score: 1

      The problem with that theory is that IBM wins the case by proving that SCO has no intellectual property, leaving nothing to take. I don't think SCO has any remaining real assets to speak of. IBM could claim ownership of the SCO trademark but that surely has negative value by now.

    17. Re:Braaaaaaaiiiinnns! by Zordak · · Score: 2

      Nuke the entire planet from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

      You know if SCO rises from the dead one more time I might see this as the best option.

      Not that likely. SCO only has two counts left, and their big claim---that they own UNIX and everything that ever looked like UNIX---is already taken care of by the Novell judgment. I think what they have left is claims for business torts, like tortious interference with contracts or something along those lines. This looks to me like the judge is opening the case back up just to take inventory: is there anything left here to fight about? If the answer is no, he will promptly toss SCO out on its ear and the whole thing will be well and truly dead.

      --

      Today's Sesame Street was brought to you by the number e.
    18. Re:Braaaaaaaiiiinnns! by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 1

      They still have desks?

      --
      Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
  2. This reminds me of action movies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    ... where the villain is beaten decisively at the end.

    But beaten != dead. And you won't want to miss what happens next.

    1. Re: This reminds me of action movies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      This is going to be the worst sequel ever.

    2. Re: This reminds me of action movies by __aasqbs9791 · · Score: 1

      I bet it will still be better than Highlander 2.

    3. Re: This reminds me of action movies by sandman83 · · Score: 1

      Uh, wasn't Highlander: The Source even worse. A movie so heinous that it killed the whole franchise. Now, with that in mind, I would torture the zombie known as SCO just to see if they would kill themselves.

  3. We need to rename this by Chris+Mattern · · Score: 4, Funny

    I officially move that this case be renamed from SCO v. IBM to Jason Voorhees.

    1. Re:We need to rename this by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 1

      What did Jason Voorhees ever do to deserve being associated with SCO?

      --
      Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
  4. I see this as a good thing by UnknowingFool · · Score: 5, Insightful

    While we are probably tired of hearing about and how long this case took, I would like to see an outcome. The thing is that SCO never actually lost the case and IBM never truly won. SCO was tied up in bankruptcy and the Novell case and could not proceed. IBM isn't objecting; I think they want to destroy any remnants of SCO. Personally I would like to see happen would be the GPL tested in a case so any FUD by SCO is rejected in a ruling. Most likely SCO is likely to lose on summary judgement and the GPL issues never go to trial.

    --
    Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
    1. Re:I see this as a good thing by Billly+Gates · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Speak for yourself. Years ago when this same case was going on I had a client implement a no GNU policy and we replaced all our Linux systems with Windows and paid the $699 per core SCO licensing fee for Linux.

      The lawyers were all over this. As a result the developers were forbidden to use GNU as it could infringe on someone elses property and it the arguments were like reading the troll posts from Slashdot.

      The more this shit hits the headlines in places like CIOmag or InfoWorld.com the stronger the argument agaisnt' GNU and Linux.

      --
      http://saveie6.com/
    2. Re:I see this as a good thing by UnknowingFool · · Score: 2

      And where is your company today with Linux? This will once and all end things if it goes to trial.

      --
      Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
    3. Re: I see this as a good thing by jotaeleemeese · · Score: 4, Insightful

      In the real world pretty much every major company continued using Linux and most startups, some now household names, got of tge ground thanks to Linux and GPL software.

      My point being that most people have not believed the fud. ..

      --
      IANAL but write like a drunk one.
    4. Re:I see this as a good thing by icebike · · Score: 5, Interesting

      And where is your company today with Linux? This will once and all end things if it goes to trial.

      That has been claimed before.

      If history is any guide this will NOT end things once and for all. Why would you even suggest such a thing in the absence of any facts indicating this?

      If you follow the money to pay the lawyers, fund discovery, and pay the enormous incidental costs, you will almost surely find that SCO, which has already declared bankruptcy, is getting outside funds, (speculation is from Microsoft), and as long as that money flows there will never be an end to this issue.

      --
      Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
    5. Re:I see this as a good thing by gl4ss · · Score: 1

      Speak for yourself. Years ago when this same case was going on I had a client implement a no GNU policy and we replaced all our Linux systems with Windows and paid the $699 per core SCO licensing fee for Linux.

      The lawyers were all over this. As a result the developers were forbidden to use GNU as it could infringe on someone elses property and it the arguments were like reading the troll posts from Slashdot.

      The more this shit hits the headlines in places like CIOmag or InfoWorld.com the stronger the argument agaisnt' GNU and Linux.

      You did at least send a letter about it later how they spent a lot of money and fucked up a lot of projects for you for _nothing_? the lawyers should have been sued for bad recommendation... with lawyers like that who needs sco even. it's not like "GNU" is the core issue even, you could have been sued just as well for using MS.

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    6. Re:I see this as a good thing by plopez · · Score: 1

      You have a lousy legal team. Are they heavily invested in MS btw? I in fact worked for a start up where the partner in charge of tech bought only MS because he had stock in the company. Very unethical.

      --
      putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+
    7. Re:I see this as a good thing by UnknowingFool · · Score: 1

      We all know SCO had no case but what we know has little bearing in legal suits. The case never ended in a settlement or decision or any kind of legal resolution. Let's say, a SCO lawyer comes up to your company tomorrow demanding their Linux royalties or they'll sue your company. If the case is resolved (and we all think in IBM's favor), your company lawyers can give comfortably give SCO lawyers the middle finger. Otherwise they'll have to do a lot of research. If SCO decides to take your company to court, chances are that it will be dismissed on summary judgment rather a lengthy trial.

      --
      Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
    8. Re:I see this as a good thing by ogdenk · · Score: 2

      Should have installed FreeBSD and told them to get f**ked.

    9. Re:I see this as a good thing by aaronfaby · · Score: 1

      Red Hat and Oracle provide indemnification clauses for their software: http://www.redhat.com/promo/believe/ http://www.oracle.com/us/technologies/linux/ubl-indemnify-066152.pdf I'm sure other vendors do as well.

    10. Re:I see this as a good thing by icebike · · Score: 1

      The lawyers for my company and every company I've ever worked for are already well versed in handling shake downs.

      A final decision, even one fully in IBMs favor, will not stop these trolls from the behavior you hypothesize.
      They will simply move on to another minuscule loop-hole of doubt. Remember that the lawyers own what's left
      of SCO, they have nothing to lose.

      --
      Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
    11. Re:I see this as a good thing by jamstar7 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Remember that the lawyers own what's left of SCO, they have nothing to lose.

      and they want their payday. Since there's nothing left of SCO, they'll have to file nuisance suits from now til the Second Coming of Elvis to get even some of the money they're "owed" via settlements. They've shown they were willing to ride it out to the bitter end.

      --
      Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step on the path to true panic.
    12. Re:I see this as a good thing by icebike · · Score: 1

      Exactly. And another ruling ruling won't stop them.

      Anyone that doubts this needs to google prenda law.

      --
      Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
    13. Re:I see this as a good thing by phands · · Score: 2

      That's just nonsense. SCO lost ALL their lawsuits. There is NO argument against Linux - it is pervasive everywhere except the (now declining) PC desktop. A jury decided that SCO did not ever own Unix (Novell did, and retained ownership) after SCO appealed previous judgments that also said Novell was the owner. Your lawyers advised your company badly and wrongly. My company at the time also got the letter from SCO: we binned it as the trash that it was. Virtually no-one paid the $699 extortion fee. It's now time for the IBM nazgul to finally squash the SCO zombie out of existence. I reckon some former SCO execs (The former CEO, Darl McBride; the (dis)information mouthpiece, Blake Stowell to name but 2) should face prosecution for all their lies and corporate malfeasance.

    14. Re:I see this as a good thing by UnknowingFool · · Score: 1

      If SCO decides to take your company to court, chances are that it will be dismissed on summary judgment rather a lengthy trial

      That wasn't my point. This was: "If SCO decides to take your company to court, chances are that it will be dismissed on summary judgment rather a lengthy trial."

      --
      Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
    15. Re:I see this as a good thing by Billly+Gates · · Score: 1

      Should have installed FreeBSD and told them to get f**ked.

      Oh, this client got rid of secureshell because it was BSD too. I tried to explain it but they heard BSD, oh that is gnu, we aint having it.

      We replaced them with an inferior solution which cost $$$$, and was repackaged ssh 2.x code. Basically all free software got lumped together as the fear was if SCO can claim ownership with something who is to say Apple or someone can't do the same with secure shell?

      --
      http://saveie6.com/
    16. Re:I see this as a good thing by Billly+Gates · · Score: 2

      Basically the corporate whigs do not care about I.T. they care about risk management and keeping their jobs is the number one priority.

      In a startup environment that is different. It is risk by its nature.

      Unethical about using only MS because they own stock? Ethical as you can get as they own the company and are the customer. My guess is it is probably one of those media companies MS invests in to make .WMV standard. Flash came right in and ruined that.

      Money does talk and shit walk in business, but game theory in economics and finance dictate the shareholder does not always come first as everyone's priority is to keep his job. Buying software with known liabilities because some geeks on a website called Slashdot is a sure way to get shitcanned with no references FAST from clueless phb managers. There was a lady too in all the CIOmag press releases who was a SCO shill too. The PHB and directors read these.

      While we know it is crap sometimes it is better not to take risks if you have a family to feed and just waste company money instead.

      --
      http://saveie6.com/
    17. Re:I see this as a good thing by icebike · · Score: 1

      Pretty sure SCO would give them a license in exchange for all that background funding, don't you think?

      Note that the these background funding arrangements to SCO have already been documented. Google will be of help finding these.

      --
      Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
    18. Re:I see this as a good thing by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 1

      Remember that the lawyers own what's left of SCO, they have nothing to lose.

      and they want their payday.

      SCO's lawyers have no payday incoming. They signed a contract years ago requiring them to take this case as far as the Supreme Court if necessary, for a flat fee (which looked like a more than big enough fee back then, not so much now) which they've long since spent.

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
    19. Re:I see this as a good thing by inode_buddha · · Score: 1

      Judge Kimball already ruled on the GPL way back in 2006 or so. Back during the initial discovery phase. The GPL was upheld as being a perfectly legitimate copyright license, and the judge could find nothing wrong with it.

      --
      C|N>K
    20. Re:I see this as a good thing by jamstar7 · · Score: 1

      Ah, but they own the dust that's left over. They'll try to recoup their "loses" by nuisance suits for quick settlement cash.

      --
      Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step on the path to true panic.
    21. Re: I see this as a good thing by Shirley+Marquez · · Score: 1

      Windows Phone is actually a perfectly OK operating system (after many tries - we're up to WP8 after all). What it lacks is apps, and it's never going to get them because developers don't want to have to support three platforms. If they had their way they wouldn't even have to support two, but most accept that as a necessary evil to limit the monopoly power of the platform owners.

      Microsoft also gets a big demerit for the way they handled Windows Phone 7. They put a big (unsuccessful) marketing push behind it, and then they announced WP8. They also announced that the WP7 and WP8 apps were incompatible, and that the WP7 phones would never get WP8. They missed the opportunity to show some class - so few WP7 phones had been sold that Microsoft should have simply given a free WP8 phone to everybody who had bought one, thus dodging the accusation of abandoning people who had just bought new Microsoft phones.

      Microsoft's best plan for Windows Phone would have been to ignore the consumer market and go all-in on enterprise computing. If they had done that - offered from day one a full implementation of Office, VPN support, domain login, and all the other stuff that the big corporate types wanted, and put a strong emphasis on security - they could have established themselves as a real alternative for some users. instead, they chose to take on iOS and Android head-on, which was guaranteed to lose.

    22. Re:I see this as a good thing by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 1

      Ah, but they own the dust that's left over.

      No, they don't.

      Contract was to take a big check, and in exchange, run with the legal action all the way to the bitter end.

      Now, the Bankruptcy Trustee might think there's some money to be made there (I think he's wrong, but no telling, really). But the lawyers aren't getting anything but screwed by this, having to face the Nazgul for FREE.....

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
    23. Re:I see this as a good thing by plopez · · Score: 1

      ONE partner did it, I don't think the others knew his motivation. Hence it being unethical.

      --
      putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+
    24. Re:I see this as a good thing by jbolden · · Score: 1

      The GPL has been tested and it has been upheld. That's already happened. That was one of the reasons that SCO switched this from a copyright claim to a breach of contract claim.

  5. Re:Cock smoking teabaggers by Sique · · Score: 1

    Oh the irony!

    --
    .sig: Sique *sigh*
  6. Vampires by Alain+Williams · · Score: 4, Funny

    I always thought that they were mythological, I now have to admit that I was wrong; dead things can come back to try to suck your blood!

  7. Oh, and one more thing .... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    I bet both late Steve Jobs and Peter Falk turning in their graves out of jealousy.

  8. Reminds me of Jarndyce v Jarndyce by the+eric+conspiracy · · Score: 4, Interesting

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jarndyce_v_Jarndyce

    Would be a great topic for another novel for a modern Dickens.

  9. Re:Happy ending? by icebike · · Score: 2, Insightful

    More likely the funding comes from Microsoft, as they are the only entity that benefits by the destruction of all things 'nix.

    --
    Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
  10. Re:Happy ending? by hawkinspeter · · Score: 1

    What about Apple? Wouldn't they gain by having problems raised with Linux and Android?

    --
    You're a temporary arrangement of matter sliding towards oblivion in a cold, uncaring universe
  11. Re:Cock smoking teabaggers by HiThere · · Score: 1

    I can't quite remember the reference. I know I've encountered that before in descriptions of this case.

    --

    I think we've pushed this "anyone can grow up to be president" thing too far.
  12. Re:Happy ending? by icebike · · Score: 1

    Maybe from a financial standpoint, perhaps.
    But every Apple OS is based on Opensource software that traces its roots back to Unix, and they would
    have just as much to lose as IBM or Novel or any flavor Linux. They would not be funding their own demise.

    --
    Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
  13. Re:Happy ending? by UnknowingFool · · Score: 1

    Well Apple uses many of the same utilities in OS X as there are in Linux. Some of Apple's code is GPL licensed (parts of WebKit, cups). Problems raised in Linux would affect them as well.

    --
    Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
  14. Re:Happy ending? by cbiltcliffe · · Score: 1

    More likely the funding comes from Microsoft, as they are the only entity that benefits by the destruction of all things 'nix.

    Antivirus companies, Microsoft consultants, game publishers that don't want to/can't support Steam for Linux..... there are plenty of entities that benefit from *nix failures.

    --
    "City hall" in German is "Rathaus" Kinda explains a few things......
  15. So if SCO are back by viperidaenz · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I hope their creditors they shafted when they filed for bankruptcy last time are first in line to get paid, before the new lawyers. (and the old ones, since they were the cause of it)

  16. Re:Happy ending? by icebike · · Score: 1

    Really?

    You don't need Steam to game on Linux. All you need is for Linux to be more than 2% of the user base.

    --
    Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
  17. Re:Happy ending? by cbiltcliffe · · Score: 1

    I realize you don't need Steam to game on Linux. But it has attracted a lot of attention to Linux as a gaming platform. If Linux fails because of SCOmbies, then the publishers who don't support Linux get to say "I told you so" to the ones that do.

    --
    "City hall" in German is "Rathaus" Kinda explains a few things......
  18. Re:Happy ending? by PPH · · Score: 1

    More likely the funding comes from Microsoft,

    In before* the latest anti-Troll legislation makes parties behind the litigants reveal themselves as a condition of an IP suit.

    *Translation: INB4

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  19. PJ, come back! by Somebody+Is+Using+My · · Score: 2

    PJ, come back! It's not over yet.

  20. Eat the guppy! by Tablizer · · Score: 2

    Can't IBM just buy the puny shell of SCO, fire everybody, and burn their desks, motivation posters, and Newton's Cradles publicly in a giant bonfire while singing Nah Nah Nah Goodbye?

    --
    Table-ized A.I.
    1. Re:Eat the guppy! by jbolden · · Score: 1

      That's what SCO's investors wanted. IBM didn't want them to benefit from a buyout. That's why they spent for the defense. Accidentally it turned into great PR with the Linux community.

  21. Zombie, not Vampire. by Penguinisto · · Score: 1

    Sorry, but it's a zombie. Vampires are at least smart enough to avoid those things which they are vulnerable to, and avoid drawing undue attention to themselves.

    SCO hasn't a single functioning brain left in its ranks. See also that whole parade of crap they've loudly spewed over the past 10 years.

    --
    Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
  22. Re:OK... by Chrisq · · Score: 2

    Who forgot to flush the toilet? damn it!
    The thurd is still floating.

    We have flushed it several times, but this little round turd just keeps bobbing up to the surface

  23. Yawn!!! by unixisc · · Score: 1

    Cant we just put all of SCO's stuff - from SCO ODT right up to UnixWare - under GPL3 or later and call it a day?

  24. Re:Cock smoking teabaggers by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 1

    What a hilarious and at the same time truly horrifying thought.

    I apologise for the Downes Syndrome sufferers on crack who modded you Troll.

    --
    Il n'y a pas de Planet B.