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Not Quite Dead: SCO Linux Suit Against IBM Stirs In Utah

Posted by timothy on from the no-one-expects-the-mcbride-inquisition dept.

An anonymous reader points to a story in the Salt Lake Tribune which says that The nearly defunct Utah company SCO Group Inc. and IBM filed a joint report to the U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City saying that legal issues remain in the case, which was initiated in 2003 with SCO claiming damages of $5 billion against the technology giant, based in Armonk, N.Y. That likely means that U.S. District Judge David Nuffer, who now presides over the dispute, will start moving the lawsuit — largely dormant for about four years while a related suit against Novell Inc. was adjudicated — ahead. What kind of issues? In addition to its claims of IBM misappropriation of code, SCO alleges that IBM executives and lawyers directed the company's Linux programmers to destroy source code on their computers after SCO made its allegations. The company's other remaining claims are that IBM's actions amounted to unfair competition and interference with its contracts and business relations with other companies. IBM has remaining claims against SCO that allege the Utah company violated contracts, copied and distributed IBM code that had been placed in Linux and that SCO created a campaign of "fear, uncertainty and doubt" about IBM's products and services because of the dispute over Unix code.

9 of 170 comments (clear)

  1. Throwback? by bradgoodman · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Is this "Throwback Tuesday"? I had to re-read it a few times to make sure I wasn't reading a VERY old article...

    1. Re:Throwback? by bradgoodman · · Score: 4, Insightful

      P.S. DIE ALREADY!!!!

    2. Re:Throwback? by number6x · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Why does the summary fail to mention the many outstanding charges that IBM has against SCO, some already decided against SCO, with hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties on hold while SCO works through its bankruptcy?

      As soon as SCO pokes its head out of bankruptcy court the Nazgul will be there, waiting for the payment owed. Do those silly bumpkins in Utah think IBM is going to not notice? Darl and his telemarketing scheme buddies are scam artists with a long history of swindling people (check out IKON Office Supplies). SCO is a bunch of petty criminals with no moral integrity, very small pea brains and only the ability to annoy people until paid to go away. If Martha Stewart was sent to a tennis-club prison for her 'crimes', these people should be doing hard time. They should certainly be shunned by the people of Utah, for their long history of immoral criminal activity.

  2. Does this mean Groklaw will come back? by satch89450 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    That would be the only GOOD thing that would come out of this action by SCO and IBM. :)

    1. Re:Does this mean Groklaw will come back? by l0ungeb0y · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Who paid her? Who was she shilling for? As far as I ever knew, she was an independent Paralegal who started the site as a personal project to follow the SCO case. Seems you are one of the Microsoft/SCO OSS haters out to continue to slander and bash PJ and anyone who supports Open Source or freedom of Speech.

  3. Re:Oh, for Pete's sake. Not again! by Austerity+Empowers · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Judging can be hard work, it's not all bribery and good ol' boyism. Sometimes you have to sit through some real snoozefests.

  4. Re:IBM should put SCO out of misery by Sique · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Why should they reward SCO with any money?

    --
    .sig: Sique *sigh*
  5. Re:IBM should put SCO out of misery by The+Grim+Reefer · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I doubt it would be a good move for IBM. IANAL, but they may have to fend off counter suits against SCO if they take ownership.

  6. Re:IBM should put SCO out of misery by rkhalloran · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This was obviously what SCOXQ.BK wanted to begin with, a nice payout to STFU and go away. Problem is, given IBMs deep pockets, it would encourage all the other trolls to come out of the woodwork looking for a similar deal. IBM is making them the latest Horrible Warning about frivolous lawsuits against them. The other issue, that I honestly think the SCOundrels didn't take into account, was that charging IBM with stealing code, when their consulting arm works with any number of Fortune 100 companies, was a charge they couldn't let stand. Buying them off gives that charge credibility, where reducing them to a greasestain on the Utah sands proves the baseless nature of the case (the millions-for-defense-not-one-cent-in-tribute argument). SCO's lawyers took a flat fee for handling the case through all appeals; at this point they're running up time they can't bill for. IBM can post a couple of interns on the case and wait until what little cash SCOX has left is burned out, then graciously propose a settlement involving the public flogging of all current and former SCOX execs and a full-page ad in the SLC Tribune calling SCOX out as a malicious copyright troll. [ Disclaimer: 12 years at ATT; seeing these vermin trying to troll based on the legacy UNIX source code has pissed me off to no end, and wrapping them in bacon and trolling them through a school of great whites would be less than they deserve. ]