SCO takes Linux licenses global

Companies outside the United States that use Linux now face the threat of legal action from the SCO Group, following the announcement Wednesday that
SCO’s licenses are available worldwide.

SCO’s Linux licensing program has proved controversial in the United States since launching last year, after the company claimed Linux extensively
infringed its Unix System V intellectual property. SCO, in its previous incarnation as Caldera Systems, had acquired some rights to Unix when it
bought the operating-systems division from the original Santa Cruz-based SCO. Caldera Systems renamed itself SCO after the takeover, while the remains
of the original SCO became Tarantella.

Many open-source and free-software advocates have contested SCOs claims, while the company has pressed ahead with threats of legal action against
American companies that use Linux. Several Linux vendors have offered their customers indemnity against legal action from SCO.