Summary: Operation of the SCO cowboys continues to be scandal-rich and a large fine is coming

Germany is repeatedly fining SCO and the last time it did this (in 2008) we argued that Germany should also fine Microsoft for slandering GNU/Linux. The latest fine comes rather shortly after scandals like the Hans Bayer scandal (and attributed to breach of regulations):

According to a letter seen by heise online, the German Federal Office of Justice last week launched summary proceedings against The SCO Group GmbH for "breaching regulations pertaining to the publication of its accounts." The proceedings were suspended after the imposed fine was paid. No information on the size of the fine is available. According to the agency's website, the fine can range from 2,500 euros to a maximum of 25,000 euros.

The German reader who showed this to us last night added: "I still think that somebody some day will go after the puppet master behind SCO:"

Here is an overview of posts that we have about the SCO case. Groklaw is apparently the only Web sites that properly reported on this case this month, the latest posts being:

● SUSE Motion to Lift Stay Denied. Natch.

Hot off the presses, the bankruptcy court has denied SUSE's motion to lift the stay so as to complete the arbitration. What? This surprises you? This court favors SCO, as it is a bankruptcy court, and it says SCO doesn't have the money to do both; if SCO fails in Utah, the arbitration won't be necessary; and the bankruptcy court has no way to know who is likely to prevail, so SUSE can't meet one necessary prong to get a stay lifted.

● Request for Info: Ransom Love Talks

● Novell's Reply in Support of Motion to Set Aside Judgment

Novell has filed its Reply to SCO's Opposition to Novell's Motion to Set Aside Judgment...

● Notice of Agenda for SCO Bankruptcy Hearing on the 27th

The Notice of Agenda [PDF] is up, letting us know what will be handled on the 27th in bankruptcy court. All that is on the schedule is the motion [PDF] by Edward Cahn, SCO's Chapter 11 trustee, to approve SCO board members issuing some stock options to themselves after they forgot to timely do so, without first seeking approval or apparently even telling Mr. Cahn first. The story is they voted in August to issue them, but then they forgot to actually do so for some months.

● Judge Stewart Rules on Novell's Motions: No and Mostly No - Updated

Well, here we go. The new judge in the redo of SCO v. Novell, the Hon. Ted Stewart, has issued his decision on the two Novell summary judgment motions, and I've only skimmed them, but it looks like if it's Novell, he says mostly no and if it favors SCO he says yes, which is what I expected. That means the hearing set for February 4 has been cancelled. No oral argument. Weird. And he ruled on a motion that I don't see anyone asking him to decide.

Here's the Memorandum Decision and Order Denying Novell's Rule 60(b) Motion for Relief from Final Judgment [PDF]. Here's Rule 60(b). He says they should have appealed the matter. That's the motion about the money from Microsoft and the other SCOsource licensees.

"Money from Microsoft," eh? Well, Microsoft has funded both sides of this legal war. It keeps them distracted, fighting one another. ⬆

"[Microsoft's] Mr. Emerson and I discussed a variety of investment structures wherein Microsoft would 'backstop,' or guarantee in some way, BayStar's investment.... Microsoft assured me that it would in some way guarantee BayStar's investment in SCO."

--Larry Goldfarb, Baystar, key investor in SCO