[NTLUG:Discuss] Microsoft Machinations

[terry]

Steve Baker wrote:

> G S wrote:
>
>> I searched the IBM website and found no mention of the lawsuit.
>> What does that say?
>
>
> It's the SCO thing - SCO bought the rights to the original UNIX from 
> AT&T.
>
> SCO claim that IBM had signed all sorts of legal stuff to get parts of
> UNIX into IBM's AIX operating system...but that IBM had gone on to graft
> those parts of AIX into Linux - which would presumably be illegal in 
> light
> of IBM's agreement with SCO.
>
> Then SCO went on to say that IBM would only be the first company they'd
> sue and that RedHat, SuSE and others would follow - and that commercial
> USERS of Linux would also be on the receiving end of legal action 
> eventually.
>
> Annoyingly, SCO won't say precisely which parts of Linux are at issue 
> - so
> the OpenSource community can't take prompt action to remove the disputed
> code (presuming we'd want to of course).
>
> The fly in the ointment for SCO is that they have sold Linux licenses
> in the past.  That means that they distributed their code along with
> the remainder of Linux under GPL - so it seems to many people that SCO
> accidentally GPL'ed their own code - giving them no right to sue anyone
> for using it. 


That is, unless they can prove IBM did it first.  That's probably their 
only hope.  But even if IBM did release it first as GPL, would it 
matter.  If SCO did it too, it should be a done deal, right?  ... I 
dono.  It's obvious that SCO did do it, or they wouldn't be taking it 
off the market, so, if it was theirs to give and they gave it, that 
should be that.    Right?  
(All this assumes that there is in fact, copyrited code present in the 
Linux kernel or libraries, and that's yet to be determined.)

>
>
> Now we hear that Microsoft are paying SCO royalties - ostensibly to 
> ensure
> that the odd Linux box that MS might have will be 'legal'.  Of course we 

It's my understanding that Microsoft is paying for Unix code that they 
used in networking software that came bundled in some older versions of 
MS Windows.  I think Microsoft figures that they'll help to legitimate 
SCO's case against IBM and Linux if they own up to using Unix code in 
their networking software, and pay for it, and align itself in the fight 
against pirating software and intellectual property, and turn the tables 
so that they're now on the side of the law for a change.

>
> know that they are just doing this to make Linux users feel that perhaps
> there is something in this SCO thing after all - and also, it'll give SCO
> some badly needed money to keep fighting IBM. 


Oh yea, you bet, and besides that, there's also the FUD factor that 
they're shooting for too.

>
>
> SCO have burned their boats on this one though - if they think that
> they'll ever sell another piece of software ever again - they have 
> another
> think coming.  They have to win enough law suit money to keep themselves
> afloat or they are a dead company.
>
> Ah well - it could have been worse.  Microsoft could have *bought* SCO
> for very little outlay...an M$ vs IBM fight over the rights to bits of
> Linux would be a very scarey thing indeed.
>
> ---------------------------- Steve Baker -------------------------
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> HomePage : http://www.sjbaker.org
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