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I haven’t spoken much about it here yet, but there’s been a bit of a commotion in the world of Open Source Software, and specifically for Linux users such as myself. What’s causing all this commotion is a little company called SCO (formerly Caldera) that’s led by a bunch of professional litigious bastards. SCO recently rediscoverd that it apparently owns the code to System V, a flavor of UNIX, the operating system that was the spiritual ancestor of Linux. SCO saw an opportunity to create a bit of mayhem and make itself rich in the process, so it looked around for companies that had a big stake in both Unix and Linux, and found themselves one hell of a big fish: IBM. SCO immediately went about suing IBM, claiming that IBM used it’s knowledge from UNIX to make changes to Linux, changes that came directly from code that was in UNIX, in breach of the contract IBM signed when they got access to the UNIX code.

Now, this is all up for some serious debate, and there are some serious doubts as to wether IBM did what SCO is claiming they did (IBM itself, by the way, has brushed aside SCO’s claims without so much as batting an eyelash), or even that SCO owns the code it claims to own (Novell, another big technology company, quickly advised SCO that it, not they, owns the patents and copyrights on the UNIX technology they claim IBM stole). But the problem for the rest of the world stems from the fact that SCO is going around spreading FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) about Linux, tellign companies that use Linux that the code they use is illegal and that they will be subject to legal action if they continue to use it, once SCO is through with IBM. To muddy the waters even further, Microsoft tossed its hat in the ring by buying a license for UNIX System V from SCO for a rather large amount of money, which would lend some legitimacy to SCO’s claims, if it wasn’t for the fact that Microsoft has clearly stated that it would like nothing better than to see Linux wiped off the face of the earth.

This is all a fairly complicated matter, but I’ve found an article online that does a very good job of explaining the situation, from a legal standpoint, and of explaining why SCO probably doesn’t have much of a case to stand on. The author also takes a stab at proprietary, closed software in general, and the whole article is worth a read, it explains what’s going on in clear language, and it’s something that anyone with any interest in technology should read, as the implications for software in general, not just Linux, should SCO previal in this matter, are dire indeed. Click here to read the article.