Date: Sat, 17 May 2003 16:10:13 +0200 (CEST) From: "Julian Stacey" <jhs@berklix.org> To: freebsd-advocacy@freebsd.org Subject: SCO sue IBM re Linux Sys V Copyright. Maybe patent danger later? Message-ID: <200305171410.h4HEADoe032933@tower.berklix.org>
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Santa Cruz Organisation are sueing IBM Linux & suspending their own (not IBM's) Linux operations, claiming intellectual property infringement (of System V base.), so said mailed their distributor mail list & their http://www.sco.com/scosource/letter_to_linux_customers.htm Tarnishing Linux will help Microsoft discourage people from Unix. A Software Patent Danger Later ? A while back SCO announced intention to vigorously protect all their supposed rights, inc. not just copyright but software patents I recall. Software patents are a danger to the public source community, inc. all of BSD Linux Mach Minix FreeDOS FSF/Hurd etc, http://www.berklix.com/~jhs/txt/patents.html Worst nightmare is Microsoft (or some parasite that may not even write code) acquiring software patents, (either deliberately, or by accidentaly acquiring them while buying other companies), ... & later attacking Linux & BSD & all else. Who might SCO target next ? SCO is/ was a relatively big company in PC Unix software, & they've not been doing too well (AFAIR) for some time. The temptation to parasitise with patents may increase (& if not them maybe someone else). Do SCO have enough revenue generators to avoid temptation ? They tried adopting Linux to reduce software development costs (their own `Open Server' is IMO a `crock'). Their major asset, a senior SCO man admitted to me, was their customer list, but with customers knowing Caldera/SCO had all of OpenServer/Unixware/Linux available, it must have been difficult to support, & perhaps harder still, if perceived as a "Me Too" provider of Linux at a high price ? It'd be good to see BSD advocates who promote BSD at exhibitions etc, also providing anti software patent leaflets to visitors, to get a change in the law, to counter the mounting danger of future parasitism from ever increasing software patents. Disclaimer: Some of this is speculative (& some not). Research yourself. - Julian Stacey Freelance Internet Consultant & Systems Engineer, Muenchen. Ihr Rauchen => mein allergischer Kopfschmerz ! Schnupftabak probieren. Mail list help: http://www.berklix.org/robot/
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