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SCO takes Linux case to Japan (News.com)

[Posted July 8, 2003 by ris]

News.com covers SCO's fishing expedition to Japan. "McBride will try to outline SCO's position to Asian business leaders, many of whom already pay SCO to use Unix, Stowell said. "This trip is partly to explain to them our position with our current dealings with IBM," he said. "It's also to see where we're at, with them, in terms of the Unix license that many of them already have." Gordon Haff, an analyst with research firm Illuminata, saw the overseas trip as more of a fishing expedition for SCO."

(Log in to post comments)

SCO also change bylaw to indemnify top execs:

Posted Jul 8, 2003 18:37 UTC (Tue) by walterbyrd (guest, #11620) [Link]

SCO has just completely overhauled its certificate of corporation and bylaws. I believe that many of the changes are in the 'indemnification' section -- indemnifying officers for anything they do 'on behalf of the company'

Specifically quoted from their FORM 8-A/A SEC filing. Last sentence of page 3 in the Bylaws section:

"The Bylaws also provide that the Company will indemnify officers and directors against losses that they may incur in investigations and legal proceedings resulting from their services to the Company,"

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1102542/000104746903023479/a2114250z8-a12ga.htm

SCO also change bylaw to indemnify top execs:

Posted Jul 8, 2003 19:32 UTC (Tue) by allesfresser (subscriber, #216) [Link]

How nice--so now McBride & Co. can have the corporate entity (which will be an empty shell by the time they get through) take the fall for all their greed-mongering. Very convenient. I wish I could do that with all my credit cards... no, just kidding, in case anyone from Visa is listening... ;-)

SCO also change bylaw to indemnify top execs:

Posted Jul 8, 2003 20:24 UTC (Tue) by donstuart (subscriber, #4550) [Link]

As I understand it, indemnification doesn't relieve the officers of liability, it just means the corporation will pay for it. Think of it as an insurance policy. If the corporation is broke then the officers may be on their own.

As usual, I didn't go to law school. (But my wife did so there is a chance I may have got this right.)

Don

SCO also change bylaw to indemnify top execs:

Posted Jul 8, 2003 22:33 UTC (Tue) by walterbyrd (guest, #11620) [Link]

Sure, scox may only change the bylaws enough to cover court costs for top execs. But why now? If you follow this case, you might notice that the timing is interesting. Also, SCOX price has surged in the last few days, and insiders are selling like mad. Here is another interesting fact:

"obviously Linux owes its heritage to UNIX, but not its code. We would not, nor will not, make such a claim."

-- Darl McBride, CEO, The SCO Group. August 2002

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=6293

Check out the 8th paragraph!!

SCO also change bylaw to indemnify top execs:

Posted Jul 9, 2003 18:26 UTC (Wed) by MathFox (subscriber, #6104) [Link]

GROKLAW has a clarification on the issue of indemnification and comments on the changes in the bylaws. Check the entry for Jul 9th.

SCO also owns C++

Posted Jul 9, 2003 13:00 UTC (Wed) by walterbyrd (guest, #11620) [Link]

Originally got this from yahoo message board:

http://techupdate.zdnet.com/techupdate/stories/main/0,14179,2877578,00.html

We get several dozen requests a month just to come in and see AIX
or HP-UX code base. And C++ programming languages, we own those,
have licensed them out multiple times, obviously. We have a lot of
royalties coming to us from C++. It was interesting to see the
depth of Caldera's intellectual capital.

</quote>

http://www.mozillaquest.com/Linux03/ScoSource-02_Story03.

html#C++_Issues

<quote>

C++ Issues

MozillaQuest Magazine: C++ appears to be one of the properties
that SCO acquired through Novell's acquisition of AT&T's UNIX
Systems Laboratories and subsequent purchase of Novell's UNIX
interests by SCO. At this time most Linux and/or GNU/Linux
distributions include C++ compilers and editors. Is this
something for which SCO currently charges? If so, just what
are the current arrangements? If not, will C++ licensing and
enforcement be added to SCO's licensing and enforcement program?

Blake Stowell: C++ is one of the properties that SCO owns today
and we frequently are approached by customers who wish to license
C++ from us and we do charge for that. Those arrangements are
done on a case-by-case basis with each customer and are not
disclosed publicly. C++ licensing is currently part of SCO's
SCOsource licensing program.

MozillaQuest Magazine: How about GNU C++? Does GNU C++ use
SCO IP? If so, could SCO license and/or charge for use of its
IP in GNU C++?

Blake Stowell: I honestly don't know.

MozillaQuest Magazine: Does the C++ that currently is included
in most if not all Linux distributions contain SCO IP?

(a) If so, is that being done with or without SCO
permissions/licensing?

(b) If so, what impact/affect does this have on the ability
of people to freely distribute and use copies of those
Linux distributions? (Under GNU licensing, anyone may
make as many copies of a GNU/Linux distribution as they
please, freely distribute them for no charge and/or for
a charge, and use a GNU/Linux on as many computes as they
please -- at no charge. Etc.)

Blake Stowell: Again, I don't know. That's something we would
have to research.

</quote>

``Be afraid. Be very afraid.''

SCO also owns C++

Posted Jul 9, 2003 15:23 UTC (Wed) by tjc (guest, #137) [Link]

C++ is one of the properties that SCO owns today and we frequently are approached by customers who wish to license C++ from us and we do charge for that. Those arrangements are done on a case-by-case basis with each customer and are not disclosed publicly. C++ licensing is currently part of SCO's SCOsource licensing program.

One would hope this is referring to SCO's implementation of C++. Either that, or this is just another instance of a SCO executive talking out of [deleted]. The second case seems more likely.

If this turns out to be true, I really don't see the point in having an ANSI/ISO standard for C++ (or any other language) if one has to purchase IP from SCO to legally implement a compiler. In this case I would be just as hesitant to use C++ as I am to use Java.

They better not mess with C!