[huskerlug] A lawyer looks at the SCO-IBM suite and comments

 "And Microsoft has recently been arguing that the SCO case proves
 that open source software is bad policy for software corporations.
 According to Microsoft, open source software may lead to repeat
 patent violation: After all, as the SCO suit shows, you can never
 be sure where a piece of code, contributed by a volunteer, came
 from.


 But in truth, it is closed, proprietary software that is the real
 villain here. After all, partnering with SCO and its predecessors
 on UNIX projects was what got IBM in trouble in the first place.
 It's the proprietary claims over UNIX that form the basis of SCO's
 suit.


 .....


 But in truth, it is closed, proprietary software that is the real
 villain here. After all, partnering with SCO and its predecessors
 on UNIX projects was what got IBM in trouble in the first place.
 It's the proprietary claims over UNIX that form the basis of SCO's
 suit.


 More generally, companies trying to derive more revenue from their
 intellectual property portfolio may lash out at licensees. But
 licensees of open source software distributed under a permissive
 license do not have to worry about this possibility.


 For instance, might Microsoft someday claim that software using
 Windows "derives" from Windows and unfairly competes with
 Microsoft's business? Because Windows software is proprietary, the
 possibility never can be fully ruled out.


 Proprietary interests, especially in intellectual property, tend to
 breed confidentiality - as anyone who ever signed a nondisclosure
 agreement with a fledgling dotcom with a "brilliant business idea"
 well knows. And confidentiality, in turn, breeds conspiracy
 theories, and allegations of theft - or unfair competition, or
 breach of contract, or the like.


 In contrast, if there is something amiss in open code, it will be
 more difficult to hide."


 http://writ.news.findlaw.com/commentary/20030626_chander.html

-
GrayGeek

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