SCO fined in Germany over Linux claims, Aug 22, 2008

SCO Group has been ordered to pay a €10,000 (£7,900) fine in Germany for making claims that Linux includes intellectual property from Unix.

Buoyed by a court ruling and prospects for new mobile phone products, The SCO Group says it is on track for a Phoenix-like rebirth.

The SCO Group 's US$5 billion threat against Linux is effectively finished. On Friday, Aug. 10, U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball ruled that SCO doesn't actually own the copyrights that it was using to threaten -- and in some cases, sue -- Linux users.

The SCO Group Inc.'s plan to emerge from bankruptcy calls for Darl McBride to step down as chief executive officer, and a new board of directors will be named.

Darl McBride said Monday he regrets that he is being pushed out as CEO of The SCO Group software company but not his decision to sue IBM and Novell, lawsuits that led to the company's bankruptcy and ultimately his departure.

Time to catch up with numerous filings in the bankruptcy. Folks heard about the proposed reorganization and may be smelling money in the air, I gather, because here comes a creditor, Citi Financial, who's decided it's worth it now to hook a car to the creditors' train and send in their lawyers.

Yes, I was quick to jump on the SCO gets $100 million lifeline story. And yes there is always more story to tell.

Last week I got a surprise call asking my opinion on whether the $100 million influx of funds was going to make a big difference in SCO’s future. All I could think was: “Damn, someone brought SCO back from the dead!?” I’ve since seen speculation that Microsoft, or specifically Bill Gates, is funding this personally and other insanity so I figured I’d weigh in on this non-news event.

The Linux Kernel is one of the most fascinating bits of software out there, partially owing to the vast number of contributors who are responsible for creating it. The Kernel has spread into many areas of our lives; it is used extensively in embedded devices (where its presence goes largely unnoticed) and it is ubiquitous in servers. Its growing success in servers comes at the expense of other established software companies.

While The SCO Group may go on to pursue its plans with a $100 million buyout, it will do so without its longtime CEO Darl McBride.

The promise of a $100 million infusion from a New York investment firm looks to guarantee The SCO Group has the resources to continue its high-profile legal battles against Novell, IBM and others that have rattled the open-source software community.

The bankrupt SCO Group Inc. cut its total work force by 30 workers, or about 26 percent, citing an effort to reduce ongoing operating expenses. The layoffs began on Jan. 31.

SCO has filed its 10K Annual Report for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2007. What a year it has been.

Novell has expressed concerns that SCO is attempting to sell off assets that could be used to help satisfy its possible financial obligations to Novell.

Novell will head to court this April to find out what it is owed, if anything, by SCO, which had been trying to earn royalties from Unix code it did not own.

It's a pity, really. Caldera and SCO were both grand companies, but their legacy was squandered on anti-Linux lawsuits that, in the end, came to nothing but tens of millions of wasted dollars.

“The judge slapping down SCO in the SCO vs. IBM/Novell lawsuit was the smartest move,” says Andreas Antonopoulos, founding partner at Nemertes Research and a Network World columnist.

When SCO filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, it was widely seen as a move to avoid the final steps in its case with Novell. On Nov. 27, however, the bankruptcy court lifted its stay on the Novell trial, and so the SCO/Novell court case is once again free to proceed.

Groklaw is the blog that has made a difference. Created as a personal project by Pamela Jones, better known as PJ, in 2003, its stated purpose was to increase understanding of the law as it is applied to Linux and free software

Earlier this week, it seemed that the only thing between York Capital buying SCO was the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware turning the proposed sale down. Then, in a surprise move on Nov. 20 SCO withdrew its emergency motion asking the court to allow it to sell its assets to York. The question of the day: why?

Wow. SCO has withdrawn its motion, the "emergency" motion, to sell its assets. No reason given. Maybe all the peals of laughter from the IBM and Novell attorneys at the hearing? And all the "Oh, no you don'ts"? Here's the docket listing:

York Capital Management's proposed Asset Purchase Agreement and its associated credit agreement for SCO make it clear that if the bankruptcy court lets York buy SCO, that York will be bankrolling SCO's continued lawsuits against Novell, IBM and other Linux-using companies.

In the United States, SCO's Linux/Unix litigation has been stalled out while the company's bankruptcy trial is being dealt with. In Germany, however, several court cases have found SCO Group GmbH, SCO's Germany branch, guilty of lying about Linux containing stolen Unix code.

Renewed proceedings have been brought against the SCO Group GmbH [Ltd.] and its apparent managing director Mike Olson by the Bonn-based Tarent GmbH as well as the Bremen-based Univention after derogatory remarks about Linux had re-appeared

Can SCO escape Novell's wrath? Will SCO CEO Darl McBride emerge rejuvenated and ready to continue the Linux legal wars by selling SCO's Unix business? These and many more questions will be answered in the next episode of "As SCO Turns."

In this Q & A, she explains how Groklaw operates, what its purposes include, and where it is likely to head in the future.

The SCO Group, working to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, hopes to sell its Unix assets to York Capital Management for up to $36 million, the company said this week in regulatory and bankruptcy court filings.

The SCO Group is seeking U.S. Bankruptcy Court approval to sell its Unix business to a New York investment management firm for $36 million, according to documents filed today with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The never ending story surrounding SCO's litigation over alleged copyright infringements contained in Linux as well as the copyrights to Unix has taken yet another twist: The SCO Group, currently subject to proceedings under Chapter 11, is causing a stir as details in relation to their payment obligations emerge.

Novell filed a motion yesterday in SCO's bankruptcy case in Delaware asking for the automatic stay on litigation to be lifted so that the SCO v. Novell lawsuit can go to trial in Utah Federal District Court.

Bankrupt SCO Group is doing its darndest to beat off its adversaries, particularly Novell Inc., keeping them from staking a claim on its remaining assets.

If the corporate Grim Reaper is truly knocking on the door of The SCO Group Inc., no one apparently told the company's CEO and president, Darl C. McBride.

Losing in court, vilified on blogs and in bankruptcy proceedings, SCO Group CEO Darl McBride still says pronouncements of the death of the Utah software company are premature, if not greatly exaggerated.

The Nasdaq stock exchange has given The SCO Group Inc. a little more time to get its financial house in order.

In August, Darl McBride, The SCO Group Inc.’s president and CEO, declared it “one of the more exciting times” ever for the software vendor. But by last week, the excitement had taken on a whole new dimension.

While the Net is flush with celebration and legal analysis (and am happy that SCO did not prevail), I think my take on this is a bit more sobering in the bigger picture of our great industry.

In the print edition of Forbes there's a great (albeit sometimes painful) tradition of doing "follow-through" articles where a reporter either takes a victory lap for making a good call or falls on his sword for making a bad one. Online publications don't typically ask for follow-throughs. But I need to write one.

Predicting SCO's demise is a popular hobby in open-source circles. Now, however, with SCO recent filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the experts believe that SCO's end is near.

SCO Group CEO Darl McBride says competition from the open source Linux operating system was a major reason why the company was forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Friday.

I thought it would be fun to include some of the media reaction to the news of the SCO bankruptcy filing. Some of the headlines are inspired. The winner has to be "SCO files Chapter 11 bankruptcy - Seeks court protection from its own lawsuits".

It finally happened. Hounded by its enemies, SCO has had to declare chapter 11 bankruptcy. And, somewhere in Novell's offices there are some lawyers popping open a bottle or two of champagne.

SCO Group Inc., the embattled software company best known for litigation targeting distributors of open-source, Linux software, said Friday it has filed for bankruptcy.

SCO wanted a jury to hear its side of the story in its Novell lawsuit, but U.S. District Court Judge Dale Kimball has ruled that he, and he alone, will hear the case.

Darl McBride has the unenviable reputation as the man who tried to milk Linux.

SCO Group's breach-of-contract and copyrights claims against IBM have been annihilated by the decision that Novell, not SCO, is the rightful owner of the Unix copyrights, according to IBM.

While SCO Group Inc.'s future may seem precarious following a courtroom setback earlier this month, Chief Executive Darl McBride says he has a plan to salvage the controversial software company.

SCO could be facing a serious cash and asset shortage if it does not receive a favorable decision in its 3-1/2-year-old legal battle with Novell over the Unix operating system.

Following Judge Kimball's declaration that the Unix System V copyrights belonged to Novell, Steven Vaughan-Nichols speculated about what the decision might mean for Sun, which updated its Unix license to System 5 Release 5 in February 2003.

Did Groklaw really have an impact on those court cases? Naaah. The impact was on the rest of us. That collection of documents gave SCO’s suits a transparency that’s impossible to come by with most IT industry litigation.

The SCO boogeyman has now been exposed to be a straw scarecrow with no real substance.

 View older news this year: Aug Jul Jun May Apr Mar Feb Jan
 View news from other years: 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999
 View older news in category SCO this year: Aug Mar Feb Jan
 View SCO news from other years: 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2000