Columbia University Law Professor Disputes Copyright and Trade Secret Claims;
Unsubstantiated Litigation Threats Not a Deterrence to Linux Customers
BEAVERTON, Ore., July 31 /PRNewswire/ -- The Open Source Development Lab
(OSDL), a global consortium of leading technology companies dedicated to
accelerating the adoption of Linux, today released a position paper raising
serious questions about SCO Group's threatened litigation against end users of
Linux. The position paper, which casts doubt on SCO's position, was authored
by one of the world's leading legal experts on copyright law as applied to
software, Professor Eben Moglen of Columbia University.
SCO Group has not yet publicly revealed the basis for any of its claims.
OSDL is disseminating the position paper to address issues that may concern
its members and industry Linux customers as a result of SCO Group's public
threats. OSDL believes Moglen's analysis will help its members, the Linux
development community and Linux users better understand potential legal
issues.
In his paper, Professor Moglen identifies some of the legal issues raised
by the SCO Group's claims about Linux and users of the popular open source
system. He does not offer legal advice, but rather frames some of the key
questions that companies and developers should ask their own counsel about
Linux. Moglen, a faculty member at Columbia University's Law School, presented
his paper on July 24 in New York at the first meeting of OSDL's customer
advisory council, comprised of CIOs and CTOs from Fortune 100 corporations.
"It is the consensus among the end users with whom we've discussed SCO's
claims that they are not slowing their Linux implementation plans," said
Stuart Cohen, OSDL CEO. "As suggested by Moglen, absent clear, open and
publicly available evidence that using Linux violates rights that SCO has not
already conferred on users by freely distributing Linux over the course of
several years, users see no need to purchase a license from SCO at present."
Moglen makes three main points in his paper:
1. SCO has yet to file a lawsuit against end users, nor has it shared
publicly any information on what software code might infringe its
copyright or trade secret claims. Absent specific factual and
legal information from SCO, how can any individual or company
threatened with a potential lawsuit respond appropriately?
2. Moglen points out that copyright law is not relevant to customers
"using" Linux. In much the same way that readers can enjoy a book
or a newspaper without a copyright license, so can users of
software -- unless they have agreed to additional use restrictions
in, for example, a shrink-wrapped box of software. Copyright law
does restrict modification, copying and redistribution, however
these activities are permitted under the GNU General Public License
(GPL) for GNU/Linux and other free software.
3. Moglen says SCO itself continues to distribute Linux under the GPL.
He argues that users should be free to modify, copy and
redistribute Linux since users can go to the SCO even today and
download Linux with a GPL license. Hence, users of Linux already
have a license -- from SCO -- that allows them to do the things
that SCO claims are infringing.
"Failure to come forward with evidence of any infringement of SCO's legal
rights is suspicious," Moglen says. "SCO's public announcement of a decision
to pursue users, rather than the authors or distributors of allegedly
infringing software, only increases doubts."
To read the entire paper, please visit the OSDL Web site at http://www.osdl.org.
Professor Moglen, a legal historian and antitrust expert who has written
extensively on the Microsoft antitrust case, is recognized internationally as
a leading authority on computers and free expression. He is a 2003 recipient
of the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Pioneer Award for Pioneering Freedom
on the Electronic Frontier, and has served as the general counsel for the Free
Software Foundation since 1993.
About the Open Source Development Lab
OSDL -- home to Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux -- is dedicated to
accelerating the growth and adoption of Linux in the enterprise. Founded in
2000 and supported by a global consortium of IT industry leaders, OSDL is a
non-profit organization that provides state-of the-art computing and test
facilities in the United States and Japan available to developers around the
world. OSDL sponsors include Alcatel, Cisco, Computer Associates, Dell,
Ericsson, Force Computers, Fujitsu, HP, Hitachi, IBM, Intel, Linuxcare,
Miracle Linux Corporation, Mitsubishi Electric, MontaVista Software, NEC
Corporation, Nokia, Red Hat, SuSE, TimeSys, Toshiba, Transmeta Corporation and
VA Software. Visit OSDL on the Web at http://www.osdl.org.
NOTE: OSDL is a trademark of Open Source Development Labs, Inc. Linux is
a trademark of Linus Torvalds. Third party marks and brands are the property
of their respective holders.
SOURCE Open Source Development Lab
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Related links:
http://www.osdl.org
CONTACT:
Nelson Pratt, Marketing Director of OSDL,
+1-503-626-2455, ext. 47, or mobile, +1-503-702-3120, or
nbpratt@osdl.org; or Craig Oda of Page One PR, +1-650-473-0600,
ext. 102, or +1-650-218-9235, or coda@pageonepr.com, for OSDL
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