OSDL, IBM, Intel announce $10 million legal defense fund for Linux users

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


OSDL ESTABLISHES $10 MILLION LEGAL FUND TO ADDRESS SCO'S ONGOING THREAT TO
SUE LINUX CUSTOMERS

Fund to pay legal fees for litigation threatened by SCO against Linux users
and will cover Linus Torvalds' legal fees


BEAVERTON, Ore. - January 12, 2004 - The Open Source Development Labs (OSDL),
a global consortium dedicated to accelerating the adoption of Linux, today
announced the creation of a Linux legal defense fund.  The fund will defray
legal expenses of Linux users involved in litigation with The SCO Group on
issues that affect the Linux community and industry. OSDL aims to raise $10
million for this fund and will accept donations from individuals,
organizations and companies. 

"Customers deploy Linux solutions in good faith based on its technical merits
and lower cost of ownership," said Stuart Cohen, CEO of OSDL. "As the
emerging center-of-gravity for Linux, OSDL is responding to a call for
leadership on this issue. This fund sends a clear message that OSDL, in
cooperation with others throughout the Linux industry, will stand firm
against legal threats levied by The SCO Group."

OSDL created the Linux Legal Defense Fund after consulting with its members,
participants in its Linux User Advisory Council, and key members of the Linux
development community. The fund will be wholly supported by independent
contributions. To date the Lab has received more than $3 million in pledges
from companies, including IBM, Intel, MontaVista Software, and others.

More information and details about the OSDL Linux legal defense fund and how
to contribute can be found on the OSDL Web site at www.osdl.org/lldf.

About Open Source Development Labs (OSDL)
OSDL - home to Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux - is dedicated to
accelerating the growth and adoption of Linux. Founded in 2000 and supported
by a global consortium of Linux customers and IT industry leaders, OSDL is a
non-profit organization that provides Linux expertise and computing and test
facilities in the United States and Japan available to developers around the
world. OSDL members include Alcatel, Cisco, Computer Associates, Dell,
Ericsson, Force Computers, Fujitsu, HP, Hitachi, IBM, Intel, Linuxcare,
Miracle Linux Corporation, Mitsubishi Electric, MontaVista Software, NEC
Corporation, Network Appliance, Nokia, Novell, NTT COMWARE, NTT DATA
INTELLILINK, Red Hat, Sun Microsystems, SUSE LINUX, TimeSys, Toshiba
Solutions, Transmeta Corporation, Turbolinux, Ulticom, Unilever, VA Software
and Wind River Systems. Visit OSDL on the Web at www.osdl.org .

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OSDL is a trademark of Open Source Development Labs, Inc. Linux is a
trademark of Linus Torvalds. Third party marks and brands are the property of
their respective holders.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
                            
Lonn Johnston for OSDL
Page One PR 
+1 650-473-0600 x101
lonn@pageonepr.com 

Intel
Chuck Mulloy
+1 408-765-3484
cmulloy@intel.com

IBM
Trink Guarino
+1 914-766-4084
guarino@us.ibm.com

MontaVista Software
Joe Samagond
+1 408-328-9234
jsamagond@mvista.com