The SCO Group has confirmed that it sent a letter to all
535 members of the US Congress which claimed that Linux and
open-source software is a threat to the security and economy of the
US.
The letter, dated 8 January, was published on the internet this
week by an open-source lobbying organisation called the Open Source
and Industry Alliance (OSAIA). The letter states that the
commoditising influence of open-source software such as Linux is
bad for the US economy and argues that open source also skirts
export controls governing commercial products.
"A computer expert in North Korea who has a number of personal
computers and an internet connection can download the latest
version of Linux, complete with multiprocessing capabilities
misappropriated from Unix, and, in short order, build a virtual
supercomputer," the letter says.
The letter, which is signed by SCO chief executive officer Darl
McBride, was meant to educate US lawmakers on "infringement issues
with regard to Linux", said SCO spokesman Blake Stowell.
With dozens of countries considering legislating the use of open
source, SCO believed it's "only a matter of time before others in
our country would put legislation on the table around open-source
software", Stowell added.
Linux creator Linus Torvalds disputed SCO's claim that Linux
contained misappropriated code, and said that SCO is wrong to
suggest that US export controls apply to software.
"Those export controls apply to hardware, not software," he
said, adding that a computer's operating system is not much help
when it comes to designing atomic warheads. "You don't do much with
a supercomputer if you don't have the software to run on top of
it."
SCO sued IBM last year, claiming that IBM illegally contributed
code to Linux derived from SCO's version of Unix, called System V
Unix.
SCO has since claimed that Linux also includes other code that
violates its System V copyrights, but the company has been heavily
criticised for failing to prove these allegations.
Linux supplier Novell maintained SCO did not even own the
copyrights to the System V source code. In response, SCO filed a
slander lawsuit with Novell earlier this week.
SCO's attempt to lobby Congress against open-source software
shows that it does not believe its own claims, said OSAIA president
and CEO Ed Black, and if its allegations are true, SCO should be
encouraging people to use Linux instead of criticising it.
"If you had a [legitimate] claim, you'd say, 'The more people
who are using it, the more I can collect from'."
Meanwhile, rival Microsoft stopped calling Linux and open-source
software "un-American" and a "cancer" last July, when it announced
that it had switched tactics and would resort to analyst reports
and case studies to strengthen its battle against Linux.
SCO, which was paid millions of dollars in software licensing
fees by Microsoft last year, has picked up where the software giant
left off, said Black. "They've become a PR firm and a litigation
firm for Microsoft. At one time they actually had a product, but
that doesn't exist anymore."
SCO continues to sell its UnixWare and OpenServer software, but
the company's activities have, increasingly, focused on the
company's Linux battle. Last week, the company began making its
Intellectual Property Licence for Linux available to small and
medium-sized businesses in the US.
Stowell insisted Microsoft had no influence on the 8
January letter. SCO and Microsoft have discussed the Linux
intellectual property issues, he said, but Stowell disputed Black's
claim that his company was working for Microsoft to attack Linux.
"It's not something we have strategy meetings on or anything."
The letter is available online at
http://www.osaia.org/letters/sco_hill.pdf.
SCO revealed yesterday that a court hearing in the IBM lawsuit,
scheduled for today, had been postponed until 6 February. The court
had been expected to examine whether SCO had complied with a
December court order compelling it to provide meaningful details of
how IBM allegedly violated its intellectual property.
"Both sides felt we would be better served if the hearing were
postponed," said Stowell.
Robert McMillan writes for IDG News
Service