Even if they would win, which is improbable (altho we should not underestimate the intelligence the american jury (the 1 MCD Million cafee burn)), Linux will still be legal in EU, and most of the countries but US.

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quote: Original post by Raduprv
...altho we should not underestimate the intelligence the american jury...

You must have meant "overestimate."

quote: Linux will still be legal in EU, and most of the countries but US.

Even if SCO wins this injunction/court suit/whatever against "Linux" (which is an ambiguous concept), it doesn''t make Linux illegal. Worst case scenario is that certain code must be dropped from the Linux kernel - all versions, worldwide - which can only be reinserted via licensing or explicit permission.

I used "underestimated" as sarcasm.
Anyway, didn''t they claim that they invented the wheel, fire, and Unix? So all the Unix clones are illegal.

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My reply to this topic on slashdot:

You're looking at the short end of big stick people.

The problem is probably not going to be this case. It's the fact that this case opens the doors for a united assault on the open source paradigm.

Regardless of if there is, or is not any case for SCO, think about the big issue which is not accidental insertion of IP code, but deliberate insertion of IP code.

Consider this:

Look at how the open source community for the kernel and all the other open packages out there is run. Imagine that some company Company$XXX has hired some person PersonBad. PersonBad is told by the company to contribute (privately) to some open source product by placing some code from a proprietary product Product$XXX in the open source product.

Imagine that PersonBad pretends to be a NiceOpenSourceCoder, who is simply contributing to the open source product. Imagine that PersonBad does what they are told and takes the bonus Company$XXX is offering.

Now, six months later, Company$XXX launches a law suit (like SCO) claiming either the kernel or the open source product in question contains IP belonging to the company. They (like SCO) refuse to disclose the details of the code in question outside of court.

The kernel or product must be changed to have the sections in question removed. Now, regardless of the fact that distributing versions of the code with the IP in it is illegal according to the court case, making getting people to fix the problem is going to be difficult, just imagine:

Imagine that this six months later is just after a major new release of some distribution, and not only Company$XXX have done this, but Company$XXY and Company$XXZ and Company$XXP, who have formed a consortium claiming that the open source community is ripping them off.

That could easily tie up distribution and development of the open source products (and the distribution in general) for days, weeks, even months (if the court orders an injunction).

It would finally get resolved one way or another, but it'd be a serious blow to the open source community. It'd also be a serious blow to people trying to distribute versions of the distribution that was infringing IP. It'd be bad.

Imagine if the same thing happened all over again six months later. It'd be a disaster.

The problem is that there is NO WAY to tell a decent open source coder from a nasty malicious coder who is pretending to be a decent open source coder but providing obfuscated IP code.

Look at all the people who are unhappy with the open source community of free stuff. Look at how they've been trying to cut it down to size for a while now. Don't say the SCO thing is nothing to worry about. It's a serious, major concern that we should all be thinking about RIGHT NOW. It's not really SCO that a huge problem, it's other people who can use the same tactics (and do it properly).

Trying to tackle this problem once it has already happened is going to be a total pain.

Maybe I'm just being paranoid and cynical. Maybe not. Think about it.

[edited by - Shadow Mint on May 27, 2003 2:48:22 AM]

This problem could be fixed like this:
Before being allowed to contribute to important projects (like the Linux kernel, Xfree, Kde, Gnome, etc.) you have to fill in a form where you declare that the code you are contributing with is your very own code, and it is not ripped off from some other company''s code without their written consent.
So, if BadPerson ™ then s/he can be persecuted, so they will not have any motivation to do that.

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Code is hardly ever incorporated into the kernel unmodified, except from individuals who have already established reputations in the kernel community (eg maintainers). Other code is submitted for peer review, modified, brought into conformance with kernel conventions, etc. The charge becomes muddied at that point, since your "code" wasn''t inserted into the kernel as much as code that mirrors/replicates concepts in your code was. Can a concept be copyrighted? No. It can, to some extent, be patented, but if it is then the kernel community is likely to contain at least one person who would be aware of this patent.

I''m still not bothered. Plus, eventually one of these PersonBad™s would either confess or be compromised which would wreak tremendous damage on the malicious corporation.

These days I''m not given to Evil Empire conspiracy theories. I think that companies combatting Open Source prefer straight-up techniques, not skullduggery like intentional pollution of our source tree.

Wow, this is really starting to turn into a farce. Now Novell is saying that SCO never got the copyrights to Unix, and moreover, McBride (of SCO) is threatening to sue Torvalds.

Holy brass balls Batman!! This company is either smoking something that''s hazardous to their mental health, or they think their case is so watertight that it''s unsinkable.

Personally, the mroe antics I see from SCO, the less I''m inclined to believe them. However, McBride did make a good point that who watches the source maintainers? I think SCO is attacking the very essence of the Open Source movement which is a scary thought. I''m not sure how effective it will be, but hopefully everyone will see it as the last gasp struggling of a drowning company.

quote: Original post by Raduprv
Even if they would win, which is improbable (altho we should not underestimate the intelligence the american jury (the 1 MCD Million cafee burn)), Linux will still be legal in EU, and most of the countries but US.

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In response to the MCD case, the coffee is heated to well over what completely destroys the nerves on your tongue, and is not given time to cool off. I agree that the amount is quite a bit much, however, giving money was justified. If I give you a vat of water at 220 degrees, you expect to be able to drink it, no questions asked?

quote: Original post by Anonymous Poster
a vat of water at 220 degrees

Good one.

ROFL!