Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications
    • Development
    • Networking
    • Servers
    • Storage

    Legal Strings Remain in Novell-SCO Group Tussle over Unix

    Written by

    Chris Preimesberger
    Published March 31, 2010
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.

      Although open-source advocates around the world celebrated a court victory March 30 when a Salt Lake City jury confirmed that the licensing rights to the Unix operating system belong to Novell and not to the SCO Group, the nearly 7-year-old legal dispute over IP is not yet over.
      In its lawsuits, SCO Group, which filed for bankruptcy protection in 2007, had been seeking about $251 million in Unix license fees plus unspecified damages.
      There are still some dangling legal strings that need to be trimmed, and those won’t happen for at least a few weeks-barring any more appeals, of course, by the Lindon, Utah-based SCO Group.
      SCO Group, under a contract first signed with Novell back in 1995, makes its own Unix-based server and provides maintenance services for its installed base. Over a number of years, the company came to claim that it not only owned the Unix code for licensing purposes but also that Linux is a derivative of Unix and should also be considered licensable.
      SCO Group’s long-term goal was to find a way to gain licensing control for its SCOsource product over the Linux operating system, which is modeled after the original Unix code created at AT&T’s Bell Laboratories in the early 1970s.
      Several variations of Linux-including Red Hat, Novell SUSE, Ubuntu and CentOS-now run most of the servers in enterprise business and Internet data centers, and theoretically there would be huge proceeds from the licensing of all those millions of servers.
      However, Linux-the Unix-like operating system created by Linus Torvalds-is separate open-source software governed by the international GNU Public License.
      When it allowed SCO Group to take over maintenance of customers using Unix in their enterprise IT systems in 1995, Novell never sold the ownership rights to the operating system to SCO, the jury said.
      However, there are still two issues that the judge needs to decide. These involve the concept that the copyrights for Unix should be transferred to SCO Group, based on the 1995 agreement it signed with Novell, which SCO Group is still litigating.
      The jury verdict on March 30 was unanimous in ruling that the copyrights did not transfer to SCO Group at any time from Novell.
      The judge will review the briefs from both sides in SCO Group’s claim for specific performance (on whether SCO Group should own the Unix copyrights) on April 16. Novell, of course, is hopeful that the judge will be heavily influenced by the jury verdict and dismiss the claim, although SCO Group is expected to appeal if necessary.
      If SCO Group were to lose that part of the case following appeal, then the copyright threat over Linux would be removed.
      The second part of the case involves IBM and Red Hat. Former U.S. District Judge Edward Cahn, the trustee for SCO’s bankruptcy filed in Delaware, said in a statement that “SCO intends to continue its lawsuit against IBM, in which the computer giant is accused of using Unix code to make the Linux operating system a viable competitor, causing a decline in SCO’s revenues.
      “The copyright claims are gone, but we have other claims based on contracts,” Cahn said.
      ‘Ton of skepticism’ about Unix in Linux
      Morrison & Foerster attorney Michael Jacobs represented Novell at trial. Jacobs, who heads the firm’s patent litigation practice, led the trial team.
      “If we continue on the path we’re on, then Linux users can rest assured that they are free from claims by SCO,” Jacobs told eWEEK. “But this was not a trial about whether there is Unix code in Linux. The closest we got to that was that SCO talked about the presentations they made to prospective licensees to try to persuade them that there was ‘Unix in Linux.’
      “Nonetheless, we believe we demonstrated at trial that there was a ton of skepticism as to whether there was any Unix in Linux, and that was one reason SCO’s licensing campaign failed.”
      The legal avenues for SCO Group in its attempt to wrestle ownership rights of Unix-and over Linux, to an extent-from Novell are waning.
      “SCOsource is dead in the water now from this verdict,” wrote Groklaw founder and Editor Pam Jones in her blog March 30. Jones has been following this case for the full seven years and was moved to start Groklaw because of the issue of corporate control over open-source software.
      “But don’t forget, IBM has counterclaims. So does Red Hat have claims, if they are interested in pursuing them any more. Even in this Novell trial, there are some issues the judge has yet to decide. This saga is not finished.”

      Chris Preimesberger
      Chris Preimesberger
      https://www.eweek.com/author/cpreimesberger/
      Chris J. Preimesberger is Editor Emeritus of eWEEK. In his 16 years and more than 5,000 articles at eWEEK, he distinguished himself in reporting and analysis of the business use of new-gen IT in a variety of sectors, including cloud computing, data center systems, storage, edge systems, security and others. In February 2017 and September 2018, Chris was named among the 250 most influential business journalists in the world (https://richtopia.com/inspirational-people/top-250-business-journalists/) by Richtopia, a UK research firm that used analytics to compile the ranking. He has won several national and regional awards for his work, including a 2011 Folio Award for a profile (https://www.eweek.com/cloud/marc-benioff-trend-seer-and-business-socialist/) of Salesforce founder/CEO Marc Benioff--the only time he has entered the competition. Previously, Chris was a founding editor of both IT Manager's Journal and DevX.com and was managing editor of Software Development magazine. He has been a stringer for the Associated Press since 1983 and resides in Silicon Valley.
      Linkedin Twitter

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Artificial Intelligence

      9 Best AI 3D Generators You Need...

      Sam Rinko - June 25, 2024 0
      AI 3D Generators are powerful tools for many different industries. Discover the best AI 3D Generators, and learn which is best for your specific use case.
      Read more
      Cloud

      RingCentral Expands Its Collaboration Platform

      Zeus Kerravala - November 22, 2023 0
      RingCentral adds AI-enabled contact center and hybrid event products to its suite of collaboration services.
      Read more
      Artificial Intelligence

      8 Best AI Data Analytics Software &...

      Aminu Abdullahi - January 18, 2024 0
      Learn the top AI data analytics software to use. Compare AI data analytics solutions & features to make the best choice for your business.
      Read more
      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Video

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2024 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×