Summary: The judge gives UNIX to Novell, but it is worth remembering that Novell is up for sale and its assets are up for grabs

THE SCO case is over, according to Groklaw. We have heard it so many times before, so is this really it? (Groklaw has just published an older transcript as well)

Judge Ted Stewart has ruled for Novell and against SCO. Novell's claim for declaratory judgment is granted; SCO's claims for specific performance and breach of the implied covenant of good fair and fair dealings are denied. Also SCO's motion for judgment as a matter of law or for a new trial: denied. SCO is entitled to waive, at its sole discretion, claims against IBM, Sequent and other SVRX licensees.

CASE CLOSED!

It's not quite "CASE CLOSED!" considering the fact that Novell is looking for an acquirer, who would also take control of UNIX. Could VMware possibly be interested in buying Novell now that they work together? From Novell's PR blog:

Today, Novell and VMware jointly announced a unique original equipment manufacturer (OEM) agreement through which VMware will distribute and support the SUSE€® Linux Enterprise Server operating system. VMware will also standardize its virtual appliance-based product offerings on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.

A little while earlier we wrote about this deal (still in the news). Some people speculated that VMware would buy Red Hat, but Novell is much cheaper and it is close to Microsoft, which VMware's current management came from. Other potential buyers of Novell are SAP, IBM, Microsoft, and all sorts of hedge funds that are likely to sell Novell piece by piece.

Back in 2007 we warned that Novell owning UNIX possibly means that an acquirer of Novell would own UNIX within months or years. It seems as though we were right. It just took a while. ⬆

On Novell sale:

• Novell May be Going Private, Hedge Fund Has Cash
• Analyst Expects Microsoft Bid to Buy Novell
• Ron Hovsepian Receives Another Large Lump of Cash as Novell Sale Looms
• GNU/Linux-Savvy Writers View Elliot Associates as Bad Neighbourhood
• Firm Behind Novell Bid Has Shady Past, Could be Tied to Microsoft (Paul E. Singer's 'Vulture Fund')
• Simon Phipps: “Seems Even With Microsoft’s Support Novell Couldn’t Cut It”
• Vulture Fund Still the Only Bidder for Novell
• Paul Singer Still Goes After Novell
• With Novell up for Sale, Novell Products Become Too Risky to Buy
• Novell for Sale
• Reuters: “Novell Has Put Itself up for Sale”
• Novell Might be Sold This Month