SCO Unable To Prove Its Linux Claims

The disclosure of a 2002 email demonstrates its investigation of Linux source code found no infringement.

The August 13, 2002 email from Michael Davidson to Reg Broughton, later forwarded to new SCO CEO Darl McBride, seems to indicate SCO’s claims of copyright infringement by the Linux community had no foundation in fact.

Further, the email discusses “the idea that (SCO) would sell licenses to corporate customers who were using Linux as a kind of insurance policy'” should the investigation show they were infringing on copyright.

“That e-mail probably creates a lot more questions than it answers,” SCO spokesman Blake Stowell said to CNET News. “We’ll be fully prepared to address that, but we will be doing that in a court setting if it is necessary.”

That evidence to the contrary has not been forthcoming from SCO. Last week, SCO releases a 1999 memo claiming the same 2002 consultant looking for copyright infringement, Bob Swartz, had found some similarities in “fragments of code.”

To date, SCO has gained $30 million due to added investment in the firm since filing its claim, and signed license agreements with Microsoft and Sun Microsystems. The disclosure of the 2002 email doesn’t preclude SCO from pursuing other legal avenues against IBM.

SCO has tried to reposition its action against IBM more as a contract dispute than an infringement case, according to the Register. But the judge in the case has been very critical of SCO’s failure to produce almost no evidence supporting their claims.

David Utter is a staff writer for murdok covering technology and business. Email him here.