The jist of SCOs response is that they have no copyright or patent interest with IBM
or the Kernel as Novell still has these. They are now left to enforce contractual
obligations only with IBM......
We've won!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Press Release Source: SCO
SCO Statement on Novell's Recent Actions
Wednesday May 28, 10:15 am ET
LINDON, Utah, May 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The following statement is being issued
by SCO (Nasdaq: SCOX - News):
SCO owns the contract rights to the UNIX® operating system. SCO has the contractual
right to prevent improper donations of UNIX code, methods or concepts into Linux by
any UNIX vendor.
Copyrights and patents are protection against strangers. Contracts are what you use
against parties you have relationships with. From a legal standpoint, contracts end up
being far stronger than anything you could do with copyrights.
SCO's lawsuit against IBM does not involve patents or copyrights. SCO's complaint
specifically alleges breach of contract, and SCO intends to protect and enforce all of
the contracts that the company has with more than 6,000 licensees.
We formed SCOsource in January 2003 to enforce our UNIX rights and we intend to
aggressively continue in this successful path of operation.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990421/SCOLOGO )
UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group
Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.
----- Original Message -----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Wednesday, May 28, 2003 12:48 pm
Subject: Re: (clug-talk) Novell Claims Ownership of UNIX System V - Novells Press
Release !
> Novells Press Release
>
>
> Novell Challenges SCO Position, Reiterates Support for Linux
>
>
> PROVO, Utah — May 28, 2003 — Defending its interests in developing
> services to operate on the Linux platform, Novell today issued a
> dual challenge to The SCO Group over its recent statements
> regarding its UNIX ownership and potential intellectual property
> rights claims over Linux.
>
> First, Novell challenged SCO's assertion that it owns the
> copyrights and patents to UNIX System V, pointing out that the
> asset purchase agreement entered into between Novell and SCO in
> 1995 did not transfer these rights to SCO. Second, Novell sought
> from SCO facts to back up its assertion that certain UNIX System V
> code has been copied into Linux. Novell communicated these
> concerns to SCO via a letter (text below) from Novell® Chairman
> and CEO Jack Messman in response to SCO making these claims.
>
> "To Novell's knowledge, the 1995 agreement governing SCO's
> purchase of UNIX from Novell does not convey to SCO the associated
> copyrights," Messman said in the letter. "We believe it unlikely
> that SCO can demonstrate that it has any ownership interest
> whatsoever in those copyrights. Apparently you share this view,
> since over the last few months you have repeatedly asked Novell to
> transfer the copyrights to SCO, requests that Novell has rejected."
>
> "SCO claims it has specific evidence supporting its allegations
> against the Linux community," Messman added. "It is time to
> substantiate that claim, or recant the sweeping and unsupported
> allegation made in your letter. Absent such action, it will be
> apparent to all that SCO's true intent is to sow fear,
> uncertainty, and doubt about Linux in order to extort payments
> from Linux distributors and users."
>
> "Novell has answered the call of the open source community," said
> Bruce Perens, a leading proponent of open source. "We admire what
> they are doing. Based on recent announcements to support Linux
> with NetWare services and now this revelation…Novell has just won
> the hearts and minds of developers and corporations alike."
>
> Text of the letter from Novell to SCO:
>
> Mr. Darl McBride
> President and CEO
> The SCO Group
>
> Re: SCO's "Letter to Linux Customers"
>
> Dear Darl:
>
> As you know, Novell recently announced some important Linux
> initiatives. These include an upcoming NetWare version based on
> the Linux kernel, as well as collaboration and resource management
> solutions for Linux.
>
> Put simply, Novell is an ardent supporter of Linux and the open
> source development community. This support will increase over time.
>
> It was in this context that we recently received your "Letter to
> Linux Customers." Many Novell business partners and customers
> apparently received the same letter. Your letter compels a
> response from Novell.
>
> As we understand the letter, SCO alleges that unnamed entities
> incorporated SCO's intellectual property into Linux without its
> authorization. You apparently base this allegation on a belief
> that these unnamed entities copied some UNIX System V code into
> Linux. Beyond this limited understanding, we have been unable to
> glean any further information about your allegation because of
> your letter's vagueness.
>
> In particular, the letter leaves certain critical questions
> unanswered. What specific code was copied from UNIX System V?
> Where can we find this code in Linux? Who copied this code? Why
> does this alleged copying infringe SCO's intellectual property? By
> failing to address these important questions, SCO has failed to
> put us on meaningful notice of any allegedly infringing Linux
> code, and thus has withheld from us the ability - and removed any
> corresponding obligation - to address your allegation.
>
> As best we can determine, the vagueness about your allegation is
> intentional. In response to industry demands that you be more
> specific, you attempt to justify your vagueness by stating,
> "That's like saying, 'show us the fingerprints on the gun so you
> can rub them off.'" (Wall Street Journal, May 19, 2003) Your
> analogy is weak and inappropriate. Linux has existed for over a
> decade, and there are plenty of copies in the marketplace with
> which SCO could attempt to prove its allegation.
>
> We are aware that you recently offered to disclose some of the
> alleged Linux problems to Novell and others under a nondisclosure
> agreement. If your offer is sincere, it may be a step in the right
> direction. But we wonder whether the terms of the nondisclosure
> agreement will allow Novell and others in the Linux community to
> replace any offending code. Specifically, how can we maintain the
> confidentiality of the disclosure if it is to serve as the basis
> for modifying an open source product such as Linux? And if we
> cannot use the confidential disclosure to modify Linux, what
> purpose does it serve?
>
> In your letter, you analogize SCO's campaign against the Linux
> community to that of the record industry against major
> corporations whose servers contained downloaded music files. There
> are crucial differences between the two campaigns. The record
> industry has provided specific information to back up its
> allegation, while SCO steadfastly refuses to do so. In its
> allegation letter, the record industry provides evidence of
> allegedly infringing activity that is specific to the targeted
> company. This offers the company real notice of the activity,
> sufficient information to evaluate the allegation, and an
> opportunity to stop the activity if it determines the allegation
> is true. If SCO wants to compare its actions to those of the
> record industry, it should follow the example set by that industry
> and present specific evidence of the alleged infringement.
>
> SCO claims it has specific evidence supporting its allegation
> against the Linux community. It is time to substantiate that
> claim, or recant the sweeping and unsupported allegation made in
> your letter. Absent such action, it will be apparent to all that
> SCO's true intent is to sow fear, uncertainty, and doubt about
> Linux in order to extort payments from Linux distributors and users.
>
> This true intent becomes clearer when one considers various public
> statements you and other SCO personnel have made about SCO's
> intellectual property rights in UNIX. SCO continues to say that it
> owns the UNIX System V patents, yet it must know that it does not.
> A simple review of U.S. Patent Office records reveals that Novell
> owns those patents.
>
> Importantly, and contrary to SCO's assertions, SCO is not the
> owner of the UNIX copyrights. Not only would a quick check of U.S.
> Copyright Office records reveal this fact, but a review of the
> asset transfer agreement between Novell and SCO confirms it. To
> Novell's knowledge, the 1995 agreement governing SCO's purchase of
> UNIX from Novell does not convey to SCO the associated copyrights.
> We believe it unlikely that SCO can demonstrate that it has any
> ownership interest whatsoever in those copyrights. Apparently, you
> share this view, since over the last few months you have
> repeatedly asked Novell to transfer the copyrights to SCO,
> requests that Novell has rejected. Finally, we find it telling
> that SCO failed to assert a claim for copyright or patent
> infringement against IBM.
>
> SCO's actions are disrupting business relations that might
> otherwise form at a critical time among partners around Linux
> technologies, and are depriving these partners of important
> economic opportunities. We hope you understand the potential
> significant legal liability SCO faces for the possible harm it is
> causing to countless customers, developers, and other Linux
> community members. SCO's actions, if carried forward, will lead to
> the loss of sales and jobs, delayed projects, canceled financing,
> and a balkanized Linux community.
>
> We, like others, are concerned about the direction of SCO's
> campaign. For now, we demand that SCO either promptly state its
> Linux infringement allegations with specificity or recant the
> accusation made in your letter. Further, we demand that SCO
> retract its false and unsupported assertions of ownership in UNIX
> patents and copyrights or provide us with conclusive information
> regarding SCO's ownership claims. In the future, we hope SCO will
> adhere to standards of strict accuracy when stating its rights in
> UNIX.
> Sincerely,
>
> Jack L. Messman
> Chairman, President and CEO
>
> About Novell
> Novell, Inc. is a leading provider of information solutions that
> deliver secure identity management (Novell Nsure), Web application
> development (Novell exteNd) and cross-platform networking services
> (Novell Nterprise), all supported by strategic consulting and
> professional services (Novell Ngage). Novell's vision of one Net -
> a world without information boundaries - helps customers realize
> the value of their information securely and economically. For more
> information, call Novell's Customer Response Center at (888) 321-
> 4CRC (4272) or visit http://www.novell.com. Press should visit
> http://www.novell.com/pressroom.
> Novell is a registered trademarks; Nsure, exteNd and Nteprise are
> trademarks; and Ngage is a service mark of Novell, Inc. in the
> United States and other countries. * All third-party trademarks
> are the property of their respective owners.
>
> Press Contact:
> Gary Schuster
> Novell, Inc.
> Phone: (781) 956-9661
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Date: Wednesday, May 28, 2003 12:45 pm
> Subject: (clug-talk) Novell Claims Ownership of UNIX System V
>
> > Slasdot has this!!!!!
> >
> > Posted by michael on Wednesday May 28, @10:10AM
> > from the batter-up dept.
> > Novell has put out a press release this morning unequivocally
> > claiming that they, and not SCO, own the patents and copyrights
> to
> > UNIX System V. If true, this would torpedo SCO's claims over the
> > last few months about intellectual property infringement in the
> > Linux kernel, GNU/Linux distributions, etc. News.com has a story
> > from last night, prior to this press release. SCO is releasing
> > quarterly financial results today, including their notes about
> how
> > much they've made from their licensing claims. You can join
> their
> > conference call (mirror) if you like, and Bruce Perens weighs in
> > below with a strongly-worded statement about SCO and Novell.
> > Update: 05/28 14:22 GMT by M: SCO issued a response.
> >
> >
>
>
