[FW] SCO vs IBM: 13-year-old Linux dispute returns as SCO files new appeal

[Man-wai Chang]

Oh well... maybe I shouldn't talk about it in the first place. :)

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2452793/sco-vs-ibm-13-year-old-linux-dispute-returns-as-sco-files-new-appeal

NOW-DEFUNCT UNIX VENDOR SCO, which claimed that Linux infringed its 
intellectual property and sought as much as $5bn in compensation from 
IBM, has filed notice of yet another appeal in the 13-year-old dispute.

The appeal comes after a ruling at the end of February when SCO's 
arguments claiming intellectual property ownership over parts of Unix 
were rejected by a US district court. That judgment noted that SCO had 
minimal resources to defend counter-claims filed by IBM due to SCO's 
bankruptcy.

In a filing, Judge David Nuffer argued that "the nature of the claims 
are such that no appellate court would have to decide the same issues 
more than once if there were any subsequent appeals", effectively 
suggesting that the case had more than run its course.

On 1 March, that filing was backed up by the judge's full explanation, 
declaring IBM the emphatic victor in the long-running saga.

"IT IS ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that pursuant to the orders of the court 
entered on July 10, 2013, February 5, 2016, and February 8, 2016, 
judgment is entered in favour of the defendant and plaintiff's causes of 
action are dismissed with prejudice," stated the document.

Now, though, SCO has filed yet again to appeal that judgment, although 
the precise grounds it is claiming haven't yet been disclosed.

SCO is being represented by the not-inexpensive law firm of Boise, 
Schiller & Flexner, which successfully represented the US government 
against Microsoft in the antitrust case in the late 1990s. Although SCO 
is officially bankrupt, it's unclear who continues to bankroll the case. 
Its one remaining "asset" is its claims for damages against IBM.

Meanwhile, despite the costs of the case, IBM has fought SCO vigorously, 
refusing even to throw a few million dollars at the company by way of 
compensation, which would encourage what remains of the company to 
pursue other, presumably easier, open source targets. µ

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