Novell Inc owns the copyrights covering the Unix computer operating system and not SCO Group Inc, a judge ruled in a lawsuit over royalties from users of the Linux computer operating system.
The ruling by US District Judge Dale Kimball in Salt Lake City on Saturday is a setback for SCO in its lawsuits against Novell and IBM Corp. SCO is seeking billions of dollars in royalty payments from hundreds of companies and is also in litigation with Red Hat Inc, a maker of Linux software. SCO's case against Novell had been set for trial next month.
SCO bought certain rights to the Unix operating system, which Linux was modeled on, from Novell in 1995 for US$145 million, including the right to license Unix to others. SCO sued for slander of title after Novell publicly disputed ownership of the Unix copyrights and said that SCO didn't have the right to demand royalties from IBM.
"The bill of sale is clear: all copyrights were excluded from the transfer," Kimball wrote in his 102-page ruling. "Novell is the owner of the Unix and UnixWare copyrights."
The ruling "vindicates the position Novell has taken since the inception of the dispute with SCO," said Joe LaSala, a Novell senior vice president, in a statement yesterday. "It settles the issue of who owns the copyrights of Unix in Novell's favor."
SCO spokesman Blake Stowell didn't immediately return a voice-mail message seeking comment.
The ruling means SCO probably can't successfully sue IBM or Linux users for copyright violations and that would make the use of so-called open-source operating systems more attractive. Linux, the free operating system that challenges Microsoft Corp's Windows, is used by Apple Inc and Armonk, New York-based IBM, the world's largest computer-services provider.
SCO, based in Lindon, Utah, sued IBM in 2003 for copyright infringement and breach of contract, claiming IBM violated an agreement for a joint project with SCO. SCO claimed that it owns the copyrights to the Unix code and that IBM inserted Unix code into Linux. IBM has repeatedly denied the claim.
IBM licensed the Unix code from AT&T Corp about 20 years ago to develop its AIX system. SCO said the license is part of what a predecessor company bought from Novell.
Red Hat has also filed a suit against SCO in Delaware, seeking a judgment that its programs don't violate the Unix copyrights. That suit is on hold pending the outcome of the Utah case. Kimball put SCO's case against IBM on hold while the Novell case proceeds.
DETERRENCE: With 1,000 indigenous Hsiung Feng II and III missiles and 400 Harpoon missiles, the nation would boast the highest anti-ship missile density in the world With Taiwan wrapping up mass production of Hsiung Feng II and III missiles by December and an influx of Harpoon missiles from the US, Taiwan would have the highest density of anti-ship missiles in the world, a source said yesterday. Taiwan is to wrap up mass production of the indigenous anti-ship missiles by the end of year, as the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology has been meeting production targets ahead of schedule, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said. Combined with the 400 Harpoon anti-ship missiles Taiwan expects to receive from the US by 2028, the nation would have
POSSIBILITIES EMERGE: With Taiwan’s victory and Japan’s narrow win over Australia, Taiwan now have a chance to advance if South Korea also beat the Aussies Taiwan has high hopes that the national baseball team would advance to the World Baseball Classic (WBC) quarter-finals after clinching a crucial 5-4 victory over South Korea in a nail-biting extra-inning game at the Tokyo Dome yesterday. Boosted by three home runs — two solo shots by Yu Chang (張育成) and Cheng Tsung-che (鄭宗哲) and a two-run homer by Stuart Fairchild — the triumph gave Taiwan a much-needed second victory in the five-team Pool C, where only the top two finishers would advance to the knockout stage in Miami, Florida. Entering extra innings with the game tied at four apiece, Taiwan scored
MISSION OF PEACE: The foreign minister urged Beijing to respect Taiwan’s existence as an independent nation, and work together to ensure peace and stability in the region Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) yesterday rejected Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi’s (王毅) comments about Taiwan, criticizing China as a “troublemaker” in the international community and a disruptor of cross-strait peace. Speaking at a news conference on the sidelines of the Chinese National People’s Congress, Wang said that Taiwan has always been a territory of China and that it would be impossible for it to become its own country. The “return” of Taiwan to China was the natural outcome of the Chinese people’s resistance against Japan in World War II, and that any pursuit of independence was “doomed
‘UNWAVERING FRIENDSHIP’: A representative of a Japanese group that co-organized a memorial, said he hopes Japanese never forget Taiwan’s kindness President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday marked the 15th anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, urging continued cooperation between Taiwan and Japan on disaster prevention and humanitarian assistance. Lai wrote on social media that Taiwan and Japan have always helped each other in the aftermath of major disasters. The magnitude 9 earthquake struck northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011, triggering a massive tsunami that claimed more than 19,000 lives, according to data from Japanese authorities. Following the disaster, Taiwan donated more than US$240 million in aid, making it one of the largest contributors of financial assistance to Japan. In addition to cash donations and
RSS