mystified Posted January 14, 2004 Report Share Posted January 14, 2004 Didn't know if everyone had seen this or not. Intel, IBM aid Linux defense fund Tech titans back a new fund that will defend Linux users against copyright infringement lawsuits. January 12, 2004: 5:46 PM EST SEATTLE (Reuters) - Two of the largest backers of Linux, the fast-growing operating system popular with businesses, are contributing to a new fund that will defend Linux users against copyright infringement lawsuits threatened by SCO Group Inc. International Business Machines Corp. (IBM: Research, Estimates), which has adopted Linux as a competitive edge that will help it sell more hardware and services, and Intel Corp. (INTC: Research, Estimates), which makes the chips that Linux runs on, are contributing to the fund, although they haven't specified how much. Open Source Development Labs (OSDL), a nonprofit industry consortium based in Beaverton, Oregon, that is working to promote further adoption of Linux, said in a statement that it created the fund, which so far has attracted pledges of $3 million. OSDL said it is aiming for $10 million. Linux, a variant of the widely used Unix operating system which can be copied and modified freely, emerged a decade ago and is being used to run the Internet, handle financial transactions and even manage the U.S. nuclear arsenal. "We want to continue to provide peace of mind to end-users," said Stuart Cohen, chief executive of OSDL said in a statement. "We don't want to see the momentum or deployment of Linux slowed down." Concerns over the legality of Linux were raised last year after SCO, which came to own the rights to Unix, sued IBM for billions of dollars and has threatened companies that they must pay to use Linux or face litigation. IBM, which won't be tapping into the defense fund for its own defense, was accused by SCO of embedding parts of SCO's Unix software code in versions of the free Linux operating system. Other Linux advocates have also taken similar measures to protect themselves and their customers against lawsuits. Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ: Research, Estimates) created in September an indemnification program that would help its customers who use the Linux operating system against potential legal troubles. Red Hat Inc. (RHAT: Research, Estimates), which provides software update and support services for Linux, put $1 million into a fund it created to cover the legal expenses of other companies developing Linux. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pzatch Posted January 15, 2004 Report Share Posted January 15, 2004 Novel has also done the same. They threw in with everyone else. Great days indead!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkelve Posted January 15, 2004 Report Share Posted January 15, 2004 (edited) For those who did not know of this site yet, you can closely follow up the legal issues at http://www.groklaw.net/ They said this might not be such a good move, because SCO could sue some small companies and make them directly rely on these funds, which would ironically transfer the funds from the Legal Defense funds to SCO. Dunno if I explained right, but you can read the discussion at Groklaw. Darkelve Edited January 15, 2004 by Darkelve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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