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Intellectual Property Law

: Groklaw

Free-OpenServer. What a Concept! - Updated

By Pamela Jones et al.

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In case SCO tries to resurrect any methods and concepts claims to OpenServer or UnixWare, let me remind the world that beginning in 1996, they gave that away themselves when they offered Unix enthusiasts free licenses to what they called Free-OpenServer. Here's the announcement as PDF, "SCO Provides FREE* UNIX System Licenses to Students, Educators and UNIX Enthusiasts around the World". Buh-bye methods and concepts claims. At a minimum. And guess what they threw in? A free software development kit:

The SCO OpenServer Development system is comprised of a set of state-of-the-art compilers, debuggers, application programming interfaces (APIs), and libraries needed to develop applications. The SCO OpenServer Development System can also be augmented by over 200 third-party development tools to create the most robust and efficient development environment.

No kidding? APIs and libraries so you could develop applications, eh? SCOsource is dealt yet another blow.

Well. Maybe a kick. I don't think it's still standing any more.

Free-OpenServer. What a concept! Here's what else I think it means: that even if SCO did win a reversal on appeal, and the appeals court decided SCO did get all the copyrights under the 1995 APA, it still can't go after anybody for methods and concepts in any code that dates back before 1996 (and maybe later), and I have long believed that was the real dream.

Full post as published by Groklaw on August 10, 2008 (boomark / email).