[Linux-aus] Novell v. SCO: The Telling Blow? (by Steve V-N and a good lawyer)

[Leon Brooks <leon@cyberknights.com.au>]

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1611154,00.asp

<quote>
And last, but by no means least, the same judge told SCO that its case 
over who really owns Unix's copyright, Novell or SCO, would be fought 
out in federal court instead of in state court.

Now, if you didn't have a scorecard, you might think the last point was 
the smallest one. But if you've been playing along at home, or at 
Groklaw anyway, you'll know that the seemingly small change in venue is 
all-important. 

That's because it completely changes the rules by which SCO will have to 
show that it, and not Novell, owns Unix's copyright. And without that 
copyright, all of those other cases SCO is pursuing against AutoZone, 
DaimlerChrysler, IBM and Red Hat fall apart like a house of cards in a 
summer thunderstorm.

I'm no lawyer; I'm just a working journalist who's been following SCO 
since the late 1980s. But heck, you don't have to take my word that SCO 
may now be in serious legal hot water. Let me introduce you to Michael 
R. Graham, intellectual property attorney and partner with the 
Chicago-based law firm Marshall, Gerstein & Borun LLP.
</quote>

Cheers; Leon

-- 
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