[NTLUG:Discuss] SCO, IBM, MS, Linux

[Darin W. Smith]

On Tue, 2003-05-27 at 17:55, Steve Baker wrote:

> I read someplace that they claim the infringement happened BEFORE
> they shipped copied of Linux under GPL and that they were (at that
> time) unaware that illegal copies of their code were in Linux.  Had
> they known, they would not have GPL'ed it - so (in effect) they were
> tricked into GPL'ing their own code.
> 

No.  Ignorance is not the same as being "tricked."  Nobody was tricked. 
If you are shipping a product, it is *your responsibility* to make sure
that you are not revealing your own trade secrets.  That is what M$
wants to come out of this case, because they will be able to spread more
FUD about open-source software leaving you open to revealing your own
trade secrets.  Thus M$'s investment in SCO.

If you reveal someone else's trade secrets in your product, that's a
little different...and is central to the DVD decoding case.

*If* there was infringement, then SCO must show that it happened before
they began shipping it *in order to have ANY case*.  Not in order to
win...but in order to have any opportunity at a case.  There are many
public archives of the Linux kernel going back years.  The code is a
matter of public record.  SCO's private archives are not.  They would
have to show that the claimed infringement was their own trade secret,
and show that it would be impossible without insider help to
independently arrive at the same solution to a given problem.  That's
going to be difficult to do...but I've got a suspicion that someone at
SCO is busily manufacturing the evidence.  Electronic copies of
source--archived only by and under control of the party that stands to
benefit--is rather convenient, no?

-- 
D!  (Darin W. Smith)              For want of a nail, the shoe was lost;
AIM: JediGrover                   For want of the shoe, the horse was
lost;
Gig 'em Ags!                      For want of the horse, the rider was
lost;
                                  For want of the rider, the battle was
lost;
				  For want of the battle, the kingdom was lost;
				  And all for the want of a nail.
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