Original URL: http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2005/11/01/sco_files_code/
After two and a half years of waiting for the shoe to drop, the SCO Group has finally filed the evidence it alleges was misused by IBM, and incorporated into the Linux kernel, to a Utah court.
SCO lodged the five page document, which identifies 217 areas of concern, in compliance with an interim deadline on Friday; the company disclosed the fact to journalists late yesterday afternoon Mountain Time. However, the document remains under seal.
"We continue with discovery as we build on this submission and prepare for trial. A final disclosure will be made in December as directed by the court," SCO said in a statement.
"The numerosity and substantiality of the disclosures reflects the pervasive extent and sustained degree as to which IBM disclosed methods, concepts, and in many places, literal code, from Unix-derived technologies in order to enhance the ability of Linux to be used as a scalable and reliable operating system for business and as an alternative to proprietary Unix systems such as those licensed by SCO and others," SCO told CNET.
It's been a long strip tease. In August 2003, four months after SCO filed suit against IBM, the company showed lines of Linux source code it claimed were similar to, and derived from, Unix System V code to which SCO owned the IP rights. This turned out not to be the case, as the code had a common ancestor. It was source code for the Berkeley Packet Filter (BPF) which had been released under a BSD license, and SCO had copied that code into Unix System V. Meanwhile, the Linux BPF code was a clean room implementation.
SCO's IP claims have been strongly challenged by Novell, which signed certain System V assets over to SCO in 1996. Novell strongly disputes (http://www.novell.com/licensing/indemnity/legal.html) that SCO has a basis for litigation based on the 1996 agreement. ®
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http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2007/08/16/novell_wont_pull_a_sco/
Only 326 lines of code said to be at issue in SCO-IBM flap (17 March 2007)
http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2007/03/17/sco_evidence_mountain/
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http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2007/01/17/sco_assets/
SCO shares collapse under weight of ruling (1 December 2006)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/12/01/sco_shares_down/
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http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2006/06/30/sco_ibm_claims/
SCO spends $4m to make $30k in Q1 (9 March 2006)
http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2006/03/09/sco_q1_drop/
Ever talked to SCO? - asks IBM (23 February 2006)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/02/23/ibm_sco_discovery_subpoenas/
NewSCO broadens case against Novell (6 January 2006)
http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2006/01/06/sco_novell_filing/
SCO's Unix slide continues in Q4 (22 December 2005)
http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2005/12/22/sco_q4_dip/
IBM drops SCO countersuit claims (8 October 2005)
http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2005/10/08/ibm_drops_sco_countersuit/
SCO's Unix and IP revenue dwindles (8 September 2005)
http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2005/09/08/sco_q3_dips/
Novell moves for sudden death in SCO case (2 August 2005)
http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2005/08/02/novell_sco/
SCO moves to limit Smoking Gun Memo damage (15 July 2005)
http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2005/07/15/sco_no_smoking_gun/
SCO knew Linux doesn't infringe - memo (15 July 2005)
http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2005/07/15/sco_knew/
Novell versus SCO will go to court (29 June 2005)
http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2005/06/29/sco_novell_goeson/
SCO watches Q2 revenue and loss shrink (2 June 2005)
http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2005/06/02/sco_q2_05/
Sun acquires oldSCO for $25m (10 May 2005)
http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2005/05/10/sun_buys_tarantella/
Insiders reveal SCO's Monterey disarray (2 May 2005)
http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2005/05/02/short_staffed_sco_dropped_the_ball/
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