SCO Ups Ante in IBM Lawsuit

By Bill Claybrook
http://aberdeen.com/ab_company/bios/claybrook.htm

June 17, 2003

The legal maneuverings from The SCO Group keep on coming [ http://aberdeen.com/ab_company/hottopics/askanalyst/claybrook061603.htm ]. On June 16, SCO amended its lawsuit to reflect its new damages demand against IBM: $3 billion. The damages started at $1 billion. This move came as SCO sought to prevent IBM from selling the AIX operating system. For its part, IBM claims that its contract with SCO is irrevocable.

And on it goes. The longer this lawsuit drags out, the more it appears SCO is using terror as a weapon against some members of the Linux and Unix communities that it alleges have touched its intellectual property. While I do not support businesses misusing others' IP, in my 35 years in the computer industry, I have not seen the type of tactics that SCO has adopted to advance its case.

Later this week, I will be publishing a paper on Aberdeen.com, "SCO's Terror Tactics," in which I describe in more detail the latest developments in the SCO-IBM lawsuit, and elaborate on my opinions and analysis.

Additionally, I will address another positive step in the development of Linux: the Open Source Development Lab's (OSDL's) announcement that it will become more active in the promotion of Linux in the enterprise and take a larger role in the creation of feature sets for future Linux implementations. It is a move that I believe will serve as a stabilizing force in the development of Linux in the enterprise over the long term - despite the fallout from the current legal maneuvers by SCO.

2:15 ET

Copyright 2003