Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Intellectual Property Law Blogs -> Groklaw

Intellectual Property Law

: Groklaw

IBM's Defense Against SCO's Copyright Infringement Claims - The Memorandum, Part 1, as text

By Pamela Jones et al.

I think when you read this 2006 IBM document, its Redacted Memorandum in Support of its Motion for Summary Judgment on its Claim for Declaratory Judgment of Non-Infringement [PDF] IBM'S Tenth Counterclaim, Part 1, which I've done as text for you at last, you'll be left wondering how SCO ever dared to open its mouth about Linux, let alone continue to claim infringement by anyone at all ever. Here's a bit of IBM's conclusion, after looking at SCO's list of allegedly misused materials, SCO's laughable Final Disclosures:

194. The Final Disclosures do not specifically allege or include any evidence of unauthorized copying of System V code in Linux by IBM, unauthorized distribution of Linux by IBM or unauthorized preparation of derivative works by IBM relating to Linux. (See Ex. 54.)

Nothing. Nothing at all. Nothing specific. No evidence. Even if there was anything, IBM points out it had multiple licenses; and besides SCO had distributed the code it sued IBM over under the GPL -- in some cases for nearly a decade.

What were they thinking? How could SCO's lawyers keep this going so many years? How could they even want to? Weren't they ashamed? Or don't they grok the tech? Was it all a cynical exercise in harassment? Could they ever seriously have thought IBM would settle over *this*?

My reaction on reading this document was how sad that the world was put through all this for absolutely no reason. How did they dare? And on what basis would anyone, let alone a retired judge, I couldn't help but ask myself, read a document like this and decide to go forward with this litigation? It's inexplicable to me. One thing is clear as a bell if you understand the tech: Linux doesn't infringe UNIX at all. That's what I get out of this.

Full post as published by Groklaw on July 15, 2010 (boomark / email).