Message ID: 268286
Posted By: walterbyrd
Posted On: 2005-05-25 09:23:00
Subject: Did scox own UNIX before the scam?

Did scox call the themselves "the owner of the UNIX operating system before scox sued IBM, and started the scosource program?

Also, why does the open group own the UnixWare trademark? Just because it has the name "Unix" in it?


Message ID: 268288
Posted By: tom_traynor
Posted On: 2005-05-25 09:31:00
Subject: Re: Did scox own UNIX before the scam?

You can check out a few questions/answers at www.unix.org/questions_answers.html

It appears that Novell proposed transfer in 1993 well before SCO (current incarnation).

'UNIX' itself is a registered trademark and SCO should have noted that in all documents.

The original complaint document claimed that 'SCO is the present owner of both UNIX and SCO/UNIX software'. Citation - www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20040704170212250

There was no mention that the OpenGroup owns the trademark to UNIX.


Message ID: 268310
Posted By: walterbyrd
Posted On: 2005-05-25 10:15:00
Subject: Seems CALD never claimed to own UNIX

Did scox aquire Unix rights while scox was still caldera?


Message ID: 268327
Posted By: karl_w_lewis
Posted On: 2005-05-25 10:46:00
Subject: Re: Seems CALD never claimed to own UNIX

"Did scox aquire Unix rights while scox was still caldera?"

Caldera International, Inc is now doing business as the SCO Group Inc. They began that name name change at about the same time they filed suit against IBM and began their program of attempting to shake down the Fortune 1500 for a Linux, opps, I mean "UNIX License."

However, IIRC, Darl claimed even in advance of any public discussion of suing IBM that Caldera was in the "enviable position of owning the UNIX operating system." All the references to that that I can turn up now, however, are *after* the lawsuit was filed. I believe that it was a key part, and the first step, in Darl's self-deception regarding the strength of his claims, and the likehood of a settlement with IBM.

KWL


Message ID: 268328
Posted By: rkhalloran
Posted On: 2005-05-25 10:55:00
Subject: UNIX begats was: Seems CALD never ..

>> Did scox aquire Unix rights while scox was still caldera?

Sounds like it's time for a quick lineage:

In The Beginning was The Labs, which begat UNIX. And it was Good.

Then UNIX was carried to the Halls of Academe, most notably You-See-Bee, where The Code grew with great Joy into Bee-See-Dee. And it was Good.

Then came The Great Divestiture and from out of the wreckage came the Deathstar and the Fifth System, which did not yet know the Protocols of Tea-See-Pee.

In that time as well the Sun rose in the west, with great understanding of the Net of a Thousand Lies. It had the appearance of UNIX, but differed in subtle and mysterious ways.

In time the Sun and the Deathstar did come to agreement, and the fruit of their union was the fourth generation of the Fifth System.

But in the fullness of time the Deathstar launched USL, to unburden itself of the Fifth System, for it was deemed Not A Core Business.

The USL craft, though, was found too small to do battle with the fleets of the OEM's, who had crafted The Code to their own ends.

Thus USL became part of the Novell fleet, but the OEMs did pay tribute for respect of their ancestral code.

But Novell, too, fell prey to the rising might of the Vole of the Northwest, and in the end sold Unixware to Santa Cruz, which had been an OEM of old. But they retained the heart of The Code, against a time when they might again be strong.

But Santa Cruz found itself in contest against the Penguin Horde, and eventually was consumed in a Volcanic Crater. The Crater Lords tried in vain to join the strengths of the Penguin Horde to that of the Old Code. Seeing other tribes of the Horde gain glory while they dwindled, the Crater Lords finally claimed lordship of both the Horde and the OEMs by right of the Old Code.

Both sides do mock these claims, saying the Horde has no part in the Old Code, and the OEMs had made their peace with the Deathstar long before the days of the Crater Lords. Yet the Lords continue to trumpet their claims to all though both the Horde and the OEMs now join forces to effect a final demise.

SCOX delenda est!!


Message ID: 268346
Posted By: walterbyrd
Posted On: 2005-05-25 11:53:00
Subject: Re: Seems CALD never claimed to own UNI

>> I believe that it was a key part, and the first step, in Darl's self-deception regarding the strength of his claims, and the likehood of a settlement with IBM.<<

First, thanks for clearing up that even as caldera, scox claimed to own UNIX.

However, it seems to me that even darl had to know that scox was paying 95% of unix license fees to novell. Even darl would know that it would make no sense to pay 95% to novell if scox owned unix free and clear.

Furthermore, during darl's reign, scox asked novell, over and over again, to transfer the copyrights. Clearly, you don't ask somebody to transfer copyrights to you, if you honestly believe that you already own the copyrights.

My point is: darl did not believed that scox owned the copyrights. Certainly, darl knew better than that several months before filing the lawsuit against IBM.

IMO: darl was not self-decieved, or other decieved - it was a total scam right from the start. Again, JMHO.


Message ID: 268745
Posted By: crunchie812
Posted On: 2005-05-26 08:31:00
Subject: Worthless Unix Copyrights

In the aftermath of the BSD settlement, the Unix copyrights become nearly worthless, and Unix trade secrets were declared non-existant. The value in the Unix code was that it was a complete collection of a working implementation. The value that remained was the copyright on the aggregate. Individual file copyrights could not be enforced without a complete replay of the BSD case and the potential that the defendant would refuse to settle.

Note that Novell never bothered to expend the pittance required to register the copyrights, until the SCOG registered the copyrights without ever having recieved a transfer.


The texts of these Yahoo Message Board posts have been licensed for copying and distribution by the Yahoo Message Board users "walterbyrd", "tom_traynor", "karl_w_lewis", "rkhalloran", "crunchie812" under the following license: License: CCL Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike v2.0.

Copyright 2005 Yahoo! SCOX. Messages are owned by the individual posters.