SCO to Linux end users:

[Peachy]

Thanks to Julia in another thread for providing the link to this site, this LinuxWorld news item today announces that SCO has clear ownership of Linux:

(July 21, 2003) - According to industry veteran Maureen O’Gara, whose weekly LinuxGram is distributed every Friday by Linux Business Week, the SCO Group is now saying that the US Patent and Trademark Office registered all the Unix and UnixWare copyrights that AT&T's Unix System Labs ever owned in SCO's name last week, “dispelling any lingering doubts,†as O’Gara puts it, “that SCO does in fact own them.â€

So, what does this mean? I don't know, but it looks like it will be very interesting in the next few months as we head towards kernel 2.6.

[SonicDragon]

Thanks for posting. I read they were issuing a statement today and i was waiting for it! It will be very interesting to see what comes out of all this.

[linuxdude32]

Just because they own copyrights for Unix and Unixware doesn't mean they actually have copyright for Linux. They have to prove that the Linux is using Unix or Unixware code, which they haven't done. Linux wasn't developed using Unix code. Linus Torvalds developed the kernel and hooked them with the GNU utilities, both of which were developed using independent code (which is why GNU stands for GNU's Not Unix) but to behave similar to a Unix system.Furthermore, the article only says that an industry analyst says that SCO says that the copyright is registered. Registering a copyright doesn't mean you own the copyright for any work, though it does help. You copyright can still be contested in court. But in this case, SCO is just saying they've registered it. And of course, we know that SCO hasn't ever said anything that wasn't true... This is just SCO trying to make corporations wh no brains make offers to license Linux because they're afraid of lawsuits. That's why they're sending out the letters. They can make all the demands they want and claims they want. Saying it doesn't make it true.