[Sussex] IBM vs Sco, IBM if forced to realse Source Code

[Geoffrey Teale]

Andrew,

Firstly, always double check any reports against groklaw, who despite 
their own pro-Linux stance always take pains to include the unbiased 
sources as well as the rampantly pro-IBM ones.

Secondly, this rare "victory" for SCO is really a very, very minor 
thing, but because it's  the first time in an absolute age that anything 
in this proceding has gone even slightly SCO's way they're making a fuss 
and releasing press releases like there is no tomoorrow.  The the hope 
SCO have is that they can generate the kind of coverage you've linked 
to.  The article you've read really overstates massively what this order 
is about.  The information IBM now has to hand over to SCO is actually 
just a small addendum to what they've already handed over (a point that 
is backed up by the judge despite SCO's continued public claims that IBM 
have been withholding evidence from them).

The tone of the releases from SCO probably have more to do with the fact 
they are now trying to peddle thier bogus Linux licenses in Europe 
(having almost universally failed to do any significant trade in the USA).

I am reminded of a Monty Python sketch, picture yourself in a British 
army base, in walk two italian "civillians":

Luigi: How many men you got here, Colonel?

Colonel: Oh, er ... seven thousand infantry, six hundred artillery, and 
er, two divisions of paratroops.

Luigi: Paratroops, Dino.

Dino: Be a shame if someone was to set fire to them.

Colonel: Set fire to them?

Luigi: Fires happen, Colonel.

Dino: Things burn.

Colonel: Look, what is all this about?

Dino: My brother and I have got a little proposition for you Colonel.

Luigi: Could save you a lot of bother.

Dino: I mean you're doing all right here aren't you, Colonel.

Luigi: Well suppose some of your tanks was to get broken and troops 
started getting lost, er, fights started breaking out during general 
inspection, like.

Dino: It wouldn't be good for business would it, Colonel?

Colonel: Are you threatening me?

Dino: Oh, no, no, no.

Luigi: Whatever made you think that, Colonel?

Dino: The Colonel doesn't think we're nice people, Luigi.

Luigi: We're your buddies, Colonel.

Dino: We want to look after you.

Colonel: Look after me?

Luigi: We can guarantee you that not a single armoured division will get 
done over for fifteen bob a week.


Andrew Guard wrote:
> The latest news in is that they have won a court battle against the tech 
> giant IBM (International Business Machines) over the long running battle 
> regarding intellectual property dispute over the Linux computer 
> operating system. The courts have ordered IBM to make available around 2 
> Billion lines of code of internally developed applications to SCO.
> 
> http://news.techwhack.com/685/ibm-vs-sco-group/
> 

--
Geoff Teale
Free Software Foundation <tealeg at member.fsf.org>