A Pyrrhic victory if indeed they won. (It was a settlement)
IBM was so scared of antitrust that they lost all aggressiveness in the market place.
They could have ruled the Mini by buying DG or even Dec and leverages their Mainframe SW portfolio. Similary with SQL that they invented. They were too timid, and Oracle got to be big.
On an aside. Microsoft was much better behaved when the DOJ was breating down their neck. I was hoping this case would have gone on forever as this seems to be a much better remedy.
SCO is irrelevant. they're being petty. why descend to their level?
Maybe so, but a concerted response from FOOS will get a fair amount of press. This will get SCO's share price to drop despite the mentioned minor real world impact. FUD campaigns works both ways.
Sequent was bought by IBM and that makes IBM guilty
Not at all. I do not know how IBM bought Sequent but normally it is the assets that is bought not the company. This is done precisely to avoid some legal issues down the road. If you buy assets you are not responsible for anything the company might have done in the past.
I know that Texas Instruments reversed their sagging fortunes by enforcing patents and suing companies.
TI was being clobbered by Japanese memory makers that was subsidised by their government. Miti was pouring money into the Japanese SC industry by underwriting the process technology needed for next generation IC's. Memory was the technology driver.
The ITC woke up thanks to mostly Micron but it was touch and go for a while. If it hadn't been for TI's effort in "asking" for royalties for Technologies that was key to the SC industry we would probably only have Intel and IBM making semiconductor in the US today.
TI got $700M in total or the equivalent of one empty Front-end.
IBM issues a press release on the SCO matter a few minutes ago.
Press Release
Quote:
June 16, 2003, Armonk, NY.... Since filing a lawsuit against IBM, SCO has made public statements and accusations about IBM's Unix license and about Linux in an apparent attempt to create fear uncertainty and doubt among IBM's customers and the open source community.
IBM's Unix license is irrevocable, perpetual and fully paid up. It cannot be terminated. This matter will eventually be resolved in the normal legal process.
IBM will continue to ship, support and develop AIX which represents years of IBM innovation, hundreds of millions of dollars of investment and many patents. As always, IBM will stand behind our products and our customers.
# # #
Trink Guarino
Director, IBM Media Relations
Don't worry. Linux has reached the point that the benefits are so compelling that companies put themseleves at a competitive disadvantage by not using it.
What looks like the "safe" choice now for you PHB's will look illadvised in a year or so. Second if Solaris does the job no big deal, no skin off Linux's nose.
You company was not planning to give much back to the community from what I gather.
Like their World series where only US teams compete.
Or as John Cleese so aptly put it at the hight of the Lewinski debaucle.
"The difference between US and the British is that We invite other people for world championships and when you meet our Head of State you only have to get down on one knee".
David Boies was a guest on the Charlie Rose show here a few days ago. He didn't talk about the SCO case but he outlines the basic strategy of the Lawfirm stemming from some of the adjustment he personally had to make since he suffered from severe dyslexia and still has some problems reading.
Strategy is to get the facts first. All the facts. Good, bad or indifferent. Then understand the implication of those facts. Only then formulate a strategy that presents those facts in the best possible light for the client.
He stated that the single most valuable asset that any trial attorney have in court is his credibility. If that is lost the case is most likely lost.
This means NEVER try to present somethng that is factual dubious as it has a high probability of being countered. Better to present some of the counter arguments yourselves and put them in a less favorable light up front.
Now this to me means that initially SCO preented a compelling case to David Boies, and whatever due diligence they did before they took the case (pretty much on contingency I might add) corroborated the claim.
Sounds like purloined source code from this description.
Really! Sound more like the guy who did it had no problem reusing the code. Meaning it is likely it was a SCO employee that did exactly what his CEO told them to do back then.
Negroponte of the Media lab said 10 years ago the we got it all wrong. Everything that is now using Airwaves will be ground and conversely. I think he was right.
Using airwaves for somethng that is stationary seems to be a waste and an annomaly.
I think your are wrong. The IP issue and the GPL was a fight that had to be fought at some point.
Linux has enough momentum now to continue the steamrolling and we could not have asked for a better partner in the fight than IBM. Second it is a weak enemy.
The name Apple has no connection to a computer so there is no meaning theft. Safari a little less clear cut, since it piggy backs on Explorer.
It is not only MS that does this, Example Netscape Navigator. Navigator is a perfectly discriptive name, and you understand pretty much exactly what it does from the name alone.
Navigator however is a good english word and should not be trademark protected. Put a Name in front like Netscape then it is ok, just as Miscrosoft Explorer is ok, but not just Explorer by itself.
Slashdot Mirror
A Pyrrhic victory if indeed they won. (It was a settlement)
IBM was so scared of antitrust that they lost all aggressiveness in the market place.
They could have ruled the Mini by buying DG or even Dec and leverages their Mainframe SW portfolio. Similary with SQL that they invented. They were too timid, and Oracle got to be big.
On an aside. Microsoft was much better behaved when the DOJ was breating down their neck. I was hoping this case would have gone on forever as this seems to be a much better remedy.
As far as Trade Secrets goes, they can rescind all day long, but it's gone for good.
Real world impact is not needed. If a lot of projects picks up on this trend the main street press will pick it up and hurt SCO.
If nothing else their stock price might take a dive.
Maybe so, but a concerted response from FOOS will get a fair amount of press. This will get SCO's share price to drop despite the mentioned minor real world impact. FUD campaigns works both ways.
We do not have the SCO source code DUH!
That is the whole friggin problem
Not at all. I do not know how IBM bought Sequent but normally it is the assets that is bought not the company. This is done precisely to avoid some legal issues down the road. If you buy assets you are not responsible for anything the company might have done in the past.
TI was being clobbered by Japanese memory makers that was subsidised by their government. Miti was pouring money into the Japanese SC industry by underwriting the process technology needed for next generation IC's. Memory was the technology driver.
The ITC woke up thanks to mostly Micron but it was touch and go for a while. If it hadn't been for TI's effort in "asking" for royalties for Technologies that was key to the SC industry we would probably only have Intel and IBM making semiconductor in the US today.
TI got $700M in total or the equivalent of one empty Front-end.
No need to be disturbed.
Quote:
June 16, 2003, Armonk, NY.... Since filing a lawsuit against IBM, SCO has made public statements and accusations about IBM's Unix license and about Linux in an apparent attempt to create fear uncertainty and doubt among IBM's customers and the open source community. IBM's Unix license is irrevocable, perpetual and fully paid up. It cannot be terminated. This matter will eventually be resolved in the normal legal process. IBM will continue to ship, support and develop AIX which represents years of IBM innovation, hundreds of millions of dollars of investment and many patents. As always, IBM will stand behind our products and our customers. # # # Trink Guarino Director, IBM Media Relations
This mean that the Penalty can be nearly open-ended or as big as $1B. It's a high hurtle to claim for SCO but it is possible in the abstract.
What looks like the "safe" choice now for you PHB's will look illadvised in a year or so. Second if Solaris does the job no big deal, no skin off Linux's nose.
You company was not planning to give much back to the community from what I gather.
Yes indeed. Worked real well for Adam Osborne
Who knows you might get a refund. If enough people did this it would create some sort of legal precident that might be useful later.
Like their World series where only US teams compete.
Or as John Cleese so aptly put it at the hight of the Lewinski debaucle.
"The difference between US and the British is that We invite other people for world championships and when you meet our Head of State you only have to get down on one knee".
"Not accredited" is the euphemism used.
That being said she got it a way that should resonate well with the current administration.
She paid for it.
Strategy is to get the facts first. All the facts. Good, bad or indifferent. Then understand the implication of those facts. Only then formulate a strategy that presents those facts in the best possible light for the client.
He stated that the single most valuable asset that any trial attorney have in court is his credibility. If that is lost the case is most likely lost.
This means NEVER try to present somethng that is factual dubious as it has a high probability of being countered. Better to present some of the counter arguments yourselves and put them in a less favorable light up front.
Now this to me means that initially SCO preented a compelling case to David Boies, and whatever due diligence they did before they took the case (pretty much on contingency I might add) corroborated the claim.
Now for the clincher
Why wasn't the NDA drafted by David Boies'firm?
Me thinks there is trouble in Paradise.
Maybe as they see it, but summarize some of the comments:
The guy that wrote the 80 lines are obviously intelligent
No effort was made to hide the comment or obfuscate the code
SCO's former CEO is on record that they actively encouraged helping Linux with "whatever it takes"
SCO at the height of Linux Craze had a strategy of trying to migrate all their clients to Linux
It came from SCO itself, and done in good faith by the programmer.
Really! Sound more like the guy who did it had no problem reusing the code. Meaning it is likely it was a SCO employee that did exactly what his CEO told them to do back then.
That is a very valid point. Make it next time (probably tomorrow) there is a SCO story. You comment got drowned and I do not have mod point.
Only funny if you remember the scene.
Using airwaves for somethng that is stationary seems to be a waste and an annomaly.
They consistently overplay the danger of computer infections, as the more scared people are the more biz they will make.
Look at their adds and see what scare tactics they use.
I think your are wrong. The IP issue and the GPL was a fight that had to be fought at some point.
Linux has enough momentum now to continue the steamrolling and we could not have asked for a better partner in the fight than IBM. Second it is a weak enemy.
Even thought the IBM is about contractual considerations this is good new for Linux, as it looks like SCO indeed do not own the IP.
For the ones that watches PBS and Chalie Rose, Note that he has David Boies as guest tonight plus Andy Groove by the way.
Hopefully Charlie will ask Boies about IP terrorism, at least I send him an email asking him to.
The name Apple has no connection to a computer so there is no meaning theft. Safari a little less clear cut, since it piggy backs on Explorer.
It is not only MS that does this, Example Netscape Navigator. Navigator is a perfectly discriptive name, and you understand pretty much exactly what it does from the name alone.
Navigator however is a good english word and should not be trademark protected. Put a Name in front like Netscape then it is ok, just as Miscrosoft Explorer is ok, but not just Explorer by itself.