IBM opens new front in Linux legal war
Published: 07 Aug 2003 15:00 BST
IBM on Thursday filed counterclaims against the SCO Group in the continuing legal battle over the Linux operating system.
An IBM spokesman said on Thursday that the company made the filing late Wednesday. Further details were not immediately available, and SCO representatives could not immediately be reached for comment.
SCO has sued IBM for $3bn (£1.86bn), alleging that Big Blue moved proprietary Unix code into Linux and breached the terms of its Unix licence with SCO. Separately from the IBM suit, SCO has said that Unix code was copied directly into Linux and seeks payments of as much as $1,399 per computer from Linux users.
The bold initial lawsuit, followed by the equally bold threat that Linux users should pay or face potential legal action, has sent shock waves through the computing industry.
On Monday, the top Linux seller, Red Hat, filed a separate lawsuit seeking a legal judgment about whether Linux violates SCO's Unix copyrights.












