Novell Does Not Own Unix, Rules Appeals Court
According to Computerworld, a 2007 decision that Novell owns the Unix code has been overturned by a federal appeals court. SCO is now free and clear to go after a $1 billion copyright infringement case against IBM.
The case goes back many years to 1995 when Novell decided to sell the UNIX business to SCO. But the two disagree on whether that sale included ownership of the copyright to the code. However, in 2007, a judge ruled that Novell owns Unix, which messed up SCO’s plans to sue IBM because Big Blue had violated SCO’s rights by contributing Unix code to Linux.
Earlier this month, a bankruptcy judge ruled that SCO cannot sell off part of its business in order to fund its ongoing litigation against Novell and IBM and appointed an administrator to decide if there is value in SCO continuing legal action. Looks like there’s some value now.