[conspire] SCO Group Launches War Games

[Rick Moen]

Following up on my summary of the various SCO cases:

> SCO v. DaimlerChrysler:  Alleges DaimlerChrysler infringes its licence
>    to use AT&T System V software (and thus breaches contract) by
>    failing to send SCO a required annual report certifying its ongoing
>    compliance with that licence's obligations.  The legal complaint
>    also claims that Linux is a (in an unspecified fashion) derivative
>    work of Unix System V, which would make DaimlerChrysler's use of
>    Linux a further breach of its AT&T Unix contract.  However, SCO doesn't
>    seek damages for the Linux usage in this trial; it merely implies the
>    threat of a future complaint for so doing in (alleged) violation of
>    DaimlerChrysler's Unix contract's terms.
>
> Oddly enough, it's conceivable that SCO Group might eventually win the
> DaimlerChrysler case, if it lasts long enough. [...]

However, I somehow missed this case having been dismissed on December
26, 2004:  http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20041226135736488
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20040721122325926

During the hearing, DaimlerChrysler's attorney explained to the judge
that the firm hadn't used any of SCO's software for over seven years,
and thus SCO's demand for a list of CPUs running their software was a
bit laughable, and that, since they hadn't been running SCO's product
at all, their failure to certify licence compliance within 30 days of 
SCO's demand was immaterial.  The judge agreed -- and also agreed that
SCO's basically dead contract gave it no rights to go on a fishing
expedition into DaimlerChrysler's usage of other software not even
mentioned in the contract at all (including Linux).

Total court time:  18 minutes, start to finish.