A story at Linux Business Week, originally published by Client Server News,
raised a ruckus in the Linux community. SCO, it said, had drafted a press
release that detailed plans to
cash
in
on
its Unix patents, either by charging an extra license fee to users of its Linux
distribution, or by “pressing infringement claims” against other Linux
distributions, possibly even fellow members of the UnitedLinux tribe.The story also said SCO had engaged high-profile attorney David Boies to handle its Linux intellectual property claims.
SCO has released a statement disputing the claims in the story, but confirming
that it does have significant asset claims in Unix IP and it is discussing
“possible strategies.”
Not many people put stock in the claims of this story; Free Software
Foundation (FSF)
executive
vp
Bradley
Kuhn says that until his GPL-defending organization sees the claim, “it’s not
that important to us.”
A Red Hat spokesperson had no comment, saying the company believes the SCO story
is a rumor.
David Boies secretary was adamant in her assertion that neither Boies nor any
other attorney at Boies, Schiller, and Flexner was currently performing duties
as “IP advisor” for SCO, as the Client Server News article states.
The tone of the statement is one of righteous indignation, however, the final
paragraph seems to hint that there may indeed have been an internal document of
some kind floating around. See what you think.
Following is the entire SCO statement released the morning of January 13, 2003:
SCO statement on Client Server News story
On January 10, 2003 Client Server News published a story concerning SCO and its
UNIX intellectual property. This article states as fact speculations about what
SCO may do or not do with regard to its ownership of core UNIX IP.Darl McBride, president and CEO of SCO, has discussed SCO’s UNIX IP ownership in
many public venues and on the most recent quarterly investors’ conference call.
SCO has significant UNIX intellectual property dating back to the company’s
purchase of AT&T’s Bell Labs UNIX technology. Our UNIX IP is a significant asset
and for several months we have been holding internal discussions, exploring a
wide range of possible strategies concerning this asset. We’ve reached no final
decisions on any course of action.SCO is a Linux vendor and a leading member of United Linux. Contrary to the
claims in the Client Server News article, SCO has no desire to take legal action
against fellow Linux vendors. As a normal part of business, SCO has had
discussions with several legal experts in the field of intellectual property
law, and these discussions included David Boies. Contrary to the claims in the
Client Server News story, SCO has not engaged Mr. Boies to take legal action
against our fellow Linux vendors.It’s unfortunate when a publication runs a headline, stating as fact in the
present tense that our company is engaging in certain activities when, in fact,
we’ve made no decisions, formed no programs and announced nothing about this.
