Ten Reasons Why

« Hype! Huh! What Is It Good For? | Main | The SCO Strategy »

May 19, 2003

Microsoft Now Controls Unix

Cue the Darth Vader heavy breathing sounds:

Microsoft to Buy Unix Technology From SCO Group

Microsoft Corp. has agreed to buy rights to Unix technology from SCO Group Inc. , a boost to SCO's controversial campaign to exact royalties for a predecessor to the Linux operating system, Monday's Wall Street Journal reported.

In case you've had your head under a rock, SCO owns proprietary Unix code that it claims is being used in the open source Linux kernel. They're suing IBM and going after other Linux vendors.

Unix was developed by AT&T. Much of it was licensed out (the BSD, or Berkely Systems Distribution), but some of it remained proprietary and was eventually acquired by SCO. SCO itself was acquired by Caldera, a Linux distribution provider, but Caldera jettisoned their brand and kept the SCO name. If there's merit to the claim that these proprietary parts are being used in the Linux kernel, that could bring Linux distribution to a halt.

With this acquisition, Microsoft would own the proprietary parts of Unix. The implication of the acquisition is, of course, that Microsoft will continue SCO's attempt to stomp out Linux by waging an intellectual property rights war against it. And, of course, Microsoft has the resources that SCO did not to go after IBM & other big Linux providers.

I can't imagine that the Department of Justice would let this go through untouched.

This could get ugly.

ADDENDUM (4:10pm): I just realized I should have titled this "Microsoft MAY Now Control Unix" because it's far from a done deal.

ADDENDUM (5:20pm): As Anthony Hersey points out in a comment to this post, even my toned down headline is probably hyperbolic. Microsoft has licensed the rights to the SCO UnixWare code because the "license ensures that Microsoft's software complies with SCO's intellectual-property rights and that the software giant can ensure compatibility with Unix software." [NY Times (free registration required) ]. Microsoft doesn't "own" Unix exclusively -- they just have the right to use the proprietary Unix code to their hearts' content.

Why would Microsoft want to do this? Probably not because, as they claim, they want to respect intellectual property and comply with SCO's patents in any Microsoft-Unix interoperability. More likely, they believe -- probalby correctly -- that this will add credence to SCO's lawsuit against IBM and SCO's warning letter to 1,500 other enterprises that use Linux. If SCO can make every Linux distibutor -- or, worse, every Linux-using business cough up patent license fees to them for using Linux, that puts a hurt on Linux total costs. Putting a hurt on Linux helps Microsoft.

Posted May 19, 2003 08:30 AM

Comments

Comments by anthony . Posted May 19, 2003 05:18 PM