Linux Vendors Reject SCO's Legal Claims

By Todd R. Weiss

May 19, 2003 12:00 PM ET

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Computerworld - IBM said it had no comment on The SCO Group's latest maneuver. But other Linux and hardware vendors denied that they're infringing on SCO's patents and said they're not frightened by SCO's legal threats.
Raleigh, N.C.-based Red Hat Inc., the U.S. Linux market leader, said in a statement that it has "put a lot of time and effort into making sure we're not in violation of valid trademarks and intellectual property. We have yet to see any code identified that's in question."
Similarly, a spokesman for SuSE Linux AG in Nuremberg, Germany, said in a statement, "We are not aware, nor has SCO made any attempt to make us aware, of any specific unauthorized code in any SuSE Linux product."
SuSE has "diligent processes for ensuring that appropriate licensing arrangements are in place for all code used in our products," the spokesman said. The company has asked SCO to clarify its public claims, but the requests have been declined, he added.
Hewlett-Packard Co., like IBM a major vendor of Linux-based hardware, acknowledged that it received a letter from SCO last week warning of the potential for legal action. But HP said it "is unaware of any intellectual property infringement within Linux."
SCO is "basically rattling their sabers," said Al Gillen, an analyst at market research firm IDC in Framingham, Mass. One all-but-certain outcome, he added, is that SCO will be ostracized by Linux advocates. "I don't think the community will accept The SCO Group as a participant in the community anymore in any way, shape or form at this point," Gillen said.

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