SCO sues first Linux user, AutoZone

[Renew Deal]

Suit could also create liabilities for SCO

By Robert McMillan, IDG News Service March 03, 2004

The SCO Group Inc. said Wednesday that it filed suit against Memphis-based auto parts chain AutoZone Inc. for violating SCO's Unix copyrights through its use of Linux.

SCO has threatened to sue Linux users in the past, and is currently involved in Linux-related lawsuits with IBM Corp., Red Hat Inc., and Novell Inc. But until Wednesday, it had not launched legal action against a Linux customer.

The Lindon, Utah, company sued IBM in March of 2003, claiming that IBM illegally contributed SCO's intellectual property to the Linux source code. It has since claimed that Linux contains code copied directly from the AT&T Unix software SCO acquired in 2000, and has warned Linux users they could be sued unless they purchase $699-per-server software licenses from SCO.

The suit against AutoZone, filed in the U.S. District Court in Nevada, asks for injunctive relief and damages to be determined in a trial.

Representatives for AutoZone were not immediately available to comment Wednesday morning.
<snip>
http://www.infoworld.com/article/04/03/03/HNscosuesfirst_1.html

SCO is an extortionist. They have no case. They are just hoping that Autozone bends over and pays up so they can sue IBM.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

1. The see the end nearing

Without businesses buying licenses to the dinosaur that is Unix, they've gotta make their money somehow.

[klook]

2. Developers ignore SCO Linux claims

Despite their high-profile lawsuits, SCO doesn't really scare that many in the IT world.

"Nine out of 10 Linux developers remain unconvinced that SCO's Linux lawsuit has any merits."

<snip>

"Nearly three in five companies claim to have evaluated the intellectual property risks of Linux, but only 13 per cent indicated that the lawsuit would either 'absolutely' or 'probably' affect their company's adoption.

"'Most people realise that, by demanding licence fees, SCO want a court decision without actually trying the case, which is why their rants are met with jeers instead of fears,' said Nicholas Petreley, Linux analyst at EDC, in a statement."
--Source: http://www.vnunet.com/News/1153183

Also, from another article, "User group hits out at SCO":
"'SCO's own programmers themselves use open source computer software tools, so it is difficult to explain SCO's position except by noting its hypocrisy,' McKusick said in a statement.

"Indeed, the open source community's practice of sharing innovations and of making them available for free clearly stimulates development and invigorates the technology sector."

<snip>

"He also dismissed SCO's claim that open source licensing undermines the basic system of intellectual property rights.

"'Society is better off when consumers have choices and when products compete with one another on the basis of functionality and price, and inventing is facilitated when inventors share their ideas,' he said."