11.08.08
SCOldera: Scolding Linux Under Another Roof?
“We do the UNIX, you do the lawsuits…”
Remember attempts to rename Office Open XML just “Open XML” (ISO participated in these attempts)? Or call the embattled Longhorn just “Vista”? Or do another iteration of Vista, then calling it “Windows 7″? Well, it's always about the name.
According to Groklaw, SCO might be trying to dodge into another trademark where it suffers none of the same poor reputation. It’s almost like a shell game that follows mysterious funneling (or channeling) of funds, not to mention the ongoing flirt with Sugar Daddies. Here is the seminal analysis.
We need to take a quick break from the Bilski series because there are a number of filings in the SCO bankruptcy, including a notation in one filing that seems to indicate that SCO is considering resurrecting the name Caldera International.
Anonymous writes: “They’re going to market a new Linux distro unified with UNIX! They could call it, hmm… Caldera Linux!”
Sarcasm considered, check out caldera.eu and the “RIP” line. Does that stand for “rest in peace”? Or “Recovery is Possible”?
This attempted resurrection — if true– got Sean’s attention.
SCO – the company best known in the Linux community for its legal challenges could be dipping into its own intellectual property well to bring back a name from the past.
OStatic wrote about this also.
Apart from this, nothing really stood out in the Novell/SCO case. Here are the remaining articles about this lawsuit (only from Groklaw):
1. SCO’s Statement on Final Judgment & the Melaugh-Gonzalez Emails
SCO has filed a Statement Regarding Entry of Final Judgment [PDF], responding to Novell’s Response to SCO’s Notice of Voluntary Dismissal , which asked the court to confirm the amount of the constructive trust the parties have agreed to and to make SCO pay it now, which in turn followed SCO’s Notice of Voluntary Dismissal.
It’s breathtaking to me. SCO actually argues, quoting selectively from the trial order’s wording, that while one clause of the 2003 Sun agreement was not authorized, the rest of the agreement was, and in fact in the judge’s “nuanced” trial order, that’s what he meant, that SCO was authorized to enter into the agreement except for that one itsy bitsy part. Just excise that one clause, and what do you get? An *authorized* agreement. What? Don’t hyperventilate. SCO does this.
2. Novell Responds to SCO’s Notice of Voluntary Dismissal/Final Judgment Language
Novell has filed its Response to SCO’s Notice of Voluntary Dismissal. It’s ascerbic and funny as can be. It shows the court each and every tricky bit it thinks SCO might just be angling for.
I saw in the email exchange between the SCO and Novell attorneys that were attached to the David Melaugh Declaration that SCO has stepped on Novell’s last nerve with its trickiness. And here we see the result. Novell points out each and every conceivable thing SCO might be trying for, leaving nothing for SCO to try later.
3. SCO v Linux: Novell demands payment of withheld income
In the legal battle between Novell and the SCO Group over SCO’s claims concerning ideas and concepts in Linux and Unix, Novell is demanding that the SCO Group immediately transfer to it a payment of $625,486.90. The Groklaw site has published the motion by Novell on which the relevant bankruptcy court now has to decide; SCO is operating under Chapter 11 of the American bankruptcy laws
Why is this battle not over yet? And when will the press report the truth, if ever? █
“On the same day that CA blasted SCO, Open Source evangelist Eric Raymond revealed a leaked email from SCO’s strategic consultant Mike Anderer to their management. The email details how, surprise surprise, Microsoft has arranged virtually all of SCO’s financing, hiding behind intermediaries like Baystar Capital.”
