SCO vs. Linux - the end is nigh

There's been a new twist in the dispute between the SCO Group and Novell over UNIX Intellectual Property. The end may be nigh for the SCO Group – the US Trustee's Office official responsible for SCO has applied to have the company's Chapter 11 protection from creditors removed, stating that there is no reasonable prospect that the SCO Group can be "rehabilitated" to the extent that a sound, debt-free business can be re-established. The SCO Group is said to have failed to submit a viable business plan. If the application is accepted, the company will be liquidated and its remaining assets distributed among its creditors. Its largest creditor is its opponent in the UNIX dispute, Novell.

SCO chief Darl McBride told local newspaper The Salt Lake Tribune that he was surprised by the decision and that SCO would be submitting a counter-application soon. The additional defence against the threat of liquidation means more work for the lawyers dealing with the case, but no extra cash, as the lawyers' fees are capped. In return the lawyers acting for SCO procured a proportion of the profits from compensation payments and licensing fees arising as a result of the suit against Novell, IBM, Red Hat and other companies deploying Linux, alleged to contain SCO code. According to a portrait of Boies Schiller, the legal firm representing SCO, the firm is deep in the red on their work for SCO.

See also:

• SCO vs. Linux: "Unix" goes under the hammer, a report from The H.
• SCO vs. Linux: case against Novell closed, a report from The H.
• SCO vs. Linux: extension for SCO, a report from The H.

(trk)