[P1] OT: Unix code lawsuits

[Joe Jones]

I would suspect that the CEOs, fresh with ideas from Enron, Worldcom, 
Arthur Anderson and other such fine examples of big business, are 
causing this stir and lawsuit stuff with IBM in a case that they can't 
win to either:

a) pump and dump the stock, netting them a hefty sum of cash but 
leaving their employees high and dry.

b) force IBM to buy them out at an inflated per share cost, again 
netting them a lot of money. Their employees (and them) would likely be 
fired by IBM, but it wouldn't matter because the fat cats would have 
made their $$$.

c) win the lawsuit and then sue everyone else using this as precedent. 
This is unlikely, and it would have been easier to go after the little 
companies first to build up a war chest. Taking on the might of IBM 
like this is just asking for trouble.

They're desperate to be bought out, and are doing their best to annoy 
IBM into doing so to make all this go away, but I think IBM will just 
wait it out. They have the time, the money and the resources to do so.

Joe

On Thursday, Jun 19, 2003, at 21:41 Europe/London, Chris Beaumont wrote:

> A number of years ago (2000) a company that had seen better days 
> ('SCO') bought some rights to a trademarked name 'Unix' and some of 
> its code, from what I have heard..Then they put a bunch of this old 
> Unix code that they had acquired up on its web site, inviting people 
> to download and 'study' it..  It was the first act in a sleazy 
> strategy to extort money, it seems to me...
>
> Now, it appears, they are trying to extort money from the Linux 
> community trying to claim that Linux has some of that code in it, so 
> that it is a 'derivative work' from Unix and that companies that use 
> Linux need to pay them.. This is kind of ridiculous for many reasons, 
> not the least of which is that this company themselves used to have a 
> linux distro of its own..and sell support for it.. (you cant 'sell' 
> linux, its free, and so all code in it is released under the GPL and 
> free to download freely..)
>
> It wont fly.. their case is basically a nuisance case.. I'm sure that 
> eventually they will be thrown out of court.. Linux has been around 
> since the early 90s..
>
> If the case had merit, why didn't they pursue it years ago? Its a 
> desperate act, in my opinion..
>
> Another strike against them.. Linux's strength is that it is developed 
> by a huge community of people, for free.. so suing that community is 
> basically futile.. because nobody 'sells' it.. it is given away.. at 
> least the core part of it..
>
> (For the same reason, figures on Linux's 'sales' are overwhelmingly 
> innaccurate, because most users just download it off the net..for 
> free.)
>
> The penetration of Linux in the server market is huge.. It is popular 
> because it just works.. its very stable - and performance is 
> excellent..
>
> SCO is a company that used to make a unix variant for 386 PCs (yes, 
> really that long ago..) They still exist, but mostly just to pursue 
> this vendetta, as far as I can tell, but after this nobody will 
> probably buy many of their products, IMO.. Its a blunder of immense 
> proportions morally, IMO, especially after they seemingly released the 
> code on their site..for free...
>
> In retrospect, that action looks suspiciously like a trap, don't you 
> think?
>
> -Chris
>
>
>
> On Thursday, June 19, 2003, at 10:26 AM, Mark Winter wrote:
>
>> Folks;
>>
>> Does anyone know what's the story behind the lawsuits against IBM and 
>> Apple in regards to the Unix code?
>>
>> Thanks.
>>
>> Mark
>>
>
>
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