Sententiae

I recently found a good article on the SCO-Linux IP violation claims. Assuming the author’s analysis is accurate, his conclusion basically confirms what I have suspected all along about this case; that SCO’s claims are spurious.

What I can’t figure out is why SCO is insisting on pursuing this matter. Do they really think that the companies that are currently deploying Linux or Linux-based applications will suddenly and wholesale abandon Linux and adopt UnixWare? This behavior is very reminiscent of Microsoft, using their legal department to bully smaller companies into “compliance” with their stringent licensing agreements.

What this incident indicates more than anything, I think, is that the US’s current IP laws in relation to software and digital rights (e.g. DMCA) need to be re-examined. I don’t think I would go so far as to say that there should be no IP protection on software at all (they would), but in today’s legal climate I think the emphasis has definitely shifted away from consumer rights and fair use toward the IP-owners.

The lawsuits by the RIAA against four college students for creating search engines on their campuses is the height of this injustice. The students settled, of course; they don’t have the resources to fight a multi-billion dollar conglomeration. Interestingly, the RIAA didn’t go after Google - they could have fought back.