LinuxTag challenges SCO

THE GERMAN LINUX exhibition and conference group LinuxTag, a non-profit organization, has launched a legal counterattack on SCO.

LinuxTag has accused SCO of illegal anti-competitive practices in a warning letter dated Friday, May 23 referring to SCO's unsubstantiated allegations that Linux contains SCO's (unspecified) proprietary code.

Under German civil law, we are led to understand, such a warning amounts to what our English legal practices term a "cease and desist" letter.

Except Germanic legal proceedings appear to regard such a warning letter somewhat more seriously, as that apparently requires a response from the recipient, failing which the offending party can be subject to fines.

Substantial fines could be levied by a German Court against SCO then, if it doesn't either: (a) provide substantiation for its statements, or (b) retract its statements publicly. Either one could harm SCO's lawsuit, if indeed there's anything to it. And if there isn't, that will be seen.

It does appear that LinuxTag might compel SCO to either put up or shut up, at least in Germany, about SCO's mysterious Linux IP claims.

What impact this might have on SCO's lawsuit against IBM in the US isn't likely to concern a German Court in the least. I won't weep for SCO. µ

L'INQ
LinuxTag Press Release