Volume I

Issue : 3: August 7, 2003

• New York Man Settles Invasion of Privacy Claim For $325,000.00
• Passage of U.S. Drug Import Bill benefits Internet Pharmacies
• Appeals Court Allows Claim For Conversion against Domain Name Registrar In Sex.com Litigation
• RIM Loses Patent-Infringement Ruling
• Recording Telephone Calls Without Customer Consent Contravenes PIPEDA
• Privacy Commissioner Rules Against Call Display
• Class Action Filed Against DoubleClick Over Advertising Banners
• Study Reveals Similar Privacy Practices in the U.S. and U.K. Despite Lack of Legislation in U.S.
• Red Hat Sues SCO Group - SCO Group Announces License Fees for Linux Users
• Canadian Lawful Access Consultation Report Released
• Australian Court Grants Hearing for Leave to Appeal in Internet Defamation Suit

Home > Volume I > Issue 3: August 7, 2003 > Red Hat Sues SCO Group - SCO Group Announces License Fees for Linux Users

Red Hat Sues SCO Group - SCO Group Announces License Fees for Linux Users

For the past few months, programmers and open-source software supporters, such as Red Hat Inc., which is a leading distributor of Linux, have disputed claims made by SCO Group Inc. (SCO) that its proprietary code was unlawfully copied into the Linux operating system. The dispute arises from SCO's filing of a $3 billion lawsuit against IBM, in which SCO claims that IBM illegally incorporated into its Linux software source code from the Unix operating system that SCO controls and SCO's sending of letters to 1,500 IT mangers warning them that any use of Linux could expose them to legal claims.

As a response to SCO's actions, on August 4, 2003, Red Hat Inc. initiated a lawsuit that asks a court to decide if any of its software infringes SCO's intellectual property rights. The lawsuit also seeks an order barring SCO from making "unfair, untrue and deceptive" claims. Since the filing of the lawsuit, SCO has announced steep licensing rates for Linux users based on its IP claims to the Linux code.

For additional information, visit:

http://news.com.com/2100-1001_3-5060134.html

http://news.findlaw.com/ap/ht/1700/8-4-2003/20030804220004_07.html