SCO quits German Linux group after it sought proof of Unix claims

SCO says "nein" to German group seeking more information

By Todd R. Weiss and John Blau of the IDG News Service (Dusseldorf bureau)

May 21, 2003 12:00 PM ET

Computerworld - The SCO Group Inc. has resigned its membership in a German Linux association after the group asked the company to provide more information about its recent claims that some of its Unix code has illegally made its way into Linux.
SCO today said it resigned from LIVE Linux-Verband eV, a Dusseldorf-based association that promotes the interests of Linux users and software developers in Germany, after the group notified the company in a recent letter that it might revoke the membership of SCO's German subsidiary, SCO Group GmbH.
"We sent in a letter of resignation," Hans Bayer, country manager and managing director at SCO Group GmbH, said today in a statement.
In the group's letter to SCO, LIVE requested that SCO Group GmbH prove claims that developers and users of the open-source Linux operating system are violating the company's intellectual property rights, the association said in a statement yesterday.
Last week, SCO warned commercial Linux users they may be liable for intellectual property violations that it alleges exist in the Linux source code (see story). The company also said it will suspend its Linux sales until the matter is resolved.
In March, SCO filed a $1 billion lawsuit against IBM for allegedly misusing Unix code, including misappropriation of trade secrets and breach of contract obligations, to bolster its Linux efforts (see story).
The German Linux association said in its statement that its members were particularly annoyed by letters that SCO sent to users warning them that they could be liable for intellectual property violations.
The German group was to decide at its June 5 meeting whether to keep SCO as a member.

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