The first big Linux lawsuit [LWN.net]

The first big Linux lawsuit

Posted Mar 13, 2003 10:26 UTC (Thu) by brwk (subscriber, #6849)
Parent article: The first big Linux lawsuit

For me the most interesting aspect of this is not SCO lashing out at others for the loss of it's former glory, but the threat to withdraw IBM's right to sell AIX within 100 days. It seems unlikely a court would come to any decision in that timespace. While it might open the way to a retaliatory suit from IBM for loss of business, particularly if found innocent of the original suit, it provides a warning shot of significant magnitude across the bows of anyone who licenses a technology and bases a key part of their product range on it. I would have thought that instead of strengthening SCO's business, it will all but destroy it. All UNIX licensees must surely now be wondering if they're the next one to be taken to court over some small technicality, and whether in the process they'll loose the right (or even have to fight for it) to sell their current product.

So where does that put the future of AIX? Surely the threat of being unable to sell it anymore, when Linux provides an effective alternative, may well lead IBM to wind down it's development and even end-of-life it in fairly short order. While UNIX remains in the hands of a struggling company trying to sue anyone they think good for a billion dollars, and who threaten to pull the rug out from under whenever they fancy it, that's not a product any company would wish to pin their colours too - especially not one with the size and reputation of IBM.

Other companies with similar arrangements with SCO over Unix - Sun, HP, et al - should probably look very hard indeed at what would happen to their businesses if they were given 100 days notice of being unable to sell their star operating system any more. It is not a situation any sensible business manager would wish to be in.

This could be a pivotal point for Linux, and open source in general. A rear-guard action by the Unix old guard has highlighted just how dangerous it is to be dependant on licensed rights in the greedy hands of others.

Regards, Bevis.

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The first big Linux lawsuit

Posted Mar 13, 2003 16:46 UTC (Thu) by xoddam (subscriber, #2322) [Link]

Score 5, Insightful.

</slashdot>

Thanks for pointing this out. This doesn't so much present
a threat to IBM or to free software, as to the entire business
model of licensing technology. SCO/Caldera can't be expected
to survive this and it will be a significant precedent for
other companies who find themselves with their 'IP' threatened
by innovation.

Not mentioning any names :-)

--
'Larry McVoy ate my hamster!'

The first big Linux lawsuit

Posted Mar 13, 2003 18:01 UTC (Thu) by donstuart (subscriber, #4550) [Link]

This smells like any empty threat. IBM has asserted that their license is perpetual and irrevocable. It is hard for me to imagine that IBM would not have protected themselves from that sort of extortion.

Don

The first big Linux lawsuit

Posted Mar 14, 2003 2:03 UTC (Fri) by gdt (subscriber, #6284) [Link]

"For me the most interesting aspect of this is not SCO lashing out at others for the loss of it's former glory, but the threat to withdraw IBM's right to sell AIX within 100 days."

Bevis, I'm Australian and not across US copyright law. But there's precedent here that a withdrawal of a copyright license must allow customers reasonable time to make migration arrangements. Given that AIX machines run complex applications that directly effect people's well-being (such as payroll, banking and social security systems) 100 days is plainly not adequate. IMHO, the adequate time period is more in the range of years.

It would be interesting to know if this detail of copyright law is similar in the USA.

Also, there's a simple contingency plan for big AIX users: sites purchase UNIX System V source code licenses directly from SCO and AIX source code licenses from IBM and continue to run their current AIX binaries whatever the outcome of the litigation.