xbiz world
xbiz premiere

SCO Claims IBM Infringed

LINDEN, Utah – After weathering a severe virus attack earlier this month waged by the creator of the MyDoom email virus, SCO Group was granted a motion by a U.S. District Court to add copyright infringement to its $3 billion lawsuit against IBM.

The additional claim could bolster SCO Group's court damages to upwards of $5 billion if the judge rules in favor of SCO. IBM stated previous to the ruling that it would not contest SCO's latest legal maneuver, although Big Blue has also stated that SCO Group's allegations in general are 'meritless.'

SCO first filed suit against IBM in March 2003.

The SCO Group has drawn the ire many software developers for enforcing a copyright on the open standard operating system Linux, which SCO claims is based on its Unix code. SCO Group has threatened many companies with legal action if they use Linux without a licensing fee.

In the first portion of SCO Group's lawsuit against Big Blue, the company alleges that IBM used parts of its Unix V operating system in Linux and in doing so violated a contractual agreement,

The gambit of charges filed against IBM include "breach of IBM software agreement, breach of IBM sublicensing agreement, breach of Sequent (a company acquired by IBM) software agreement, breach of Sequent sublicensing agreement, copyright infringement, unfair competition, two separate charges of interference with contract, and interference with business relationships."

SCO is also in litigation with Novell, and in September Red Hat filed a lawsuit against SCO for damaging its reputation with allegations of copyright infringement.

SCO filed suit against Novel in January 2003 claiming that Novell had improperly filed copyright registrations for Unix technology that were already covered by SCO's copyrights, Internetnews reports.

SCO also charged Novell with making false public statements regarding the ownership of Unix and UnixWare.

In the meantime, SCO Group made headway this week by announcing that EV1servers.net, a hosting company, has signed an intellectual property licensing agreement for the parts of Linux that include its Unix code.

SCO claims that EV1servers.net is the first company to publicly take out a license, but that it isn't the only licensee SCO holds.

Copyright © 2026 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

California, Florida Reps File Latest Bill to Repeal Section 230

Two members of Congress on Thursday introduced new legislation to repeal Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects interactive computer services — including adult platforms — from liability for user-generated content.

Second Bill Proposed to Shield US Sites From 'Foreign Censorship'

For the second time in recent weeks, a Republican congressman has introduced legislation to bar U.S. courts from helping to enforce foreign laws restricting speech that would domestically be protected under the First Amendment, potentially including foreign age verification laws.

Ukrainian Legislators Revive Porn Decriminalization Push

The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, is once again considering a bill that would decriminalize the creation and distribution of pornography in that country — an activity that currently carries a prison sentence of three to five years.

Ofcom Fines XGroovy $986,000 for AV Noncompliance

U.K. media regulator Ofcom on Thursday imposed a fine of 700,000 pounds (about $986,000) against adult website XGroovy for failing to comply with provisions of the Online Safety Act.

Utah VPN Enforcement Pause Extended in Aylo Lawsuit

Provisions of a Utah law making adult websites liable if minors in the state circumvent geolocation efforts to bypass age verification, which were set to come into force in May, have again been put on hold temporarily.

Anti-Censorship Bill Could Shield US Sites From Foreign AV Laws

A Republican congressman has introduced legislation to bar U.S. courts from helping to enforce any foreign law restricting speech that would domestically be protected under the First Amendment, potentially including foreign age verification laws.

Romantix-Fargo Zoning Dispute Heads Back to District Court

A federal appeals court on Thursday ruled that zoning officials in Fargo, North Dakota, acted in an “arbitrary and capricious” manner when they prevented sex toy retailer Romantix from opening a planned retail store in that city.

Appeals Court Upholds Section 230 Immunity in XVideos Case

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit has upheld a lower court’s ruling that Section 230 protects WebGroup Czech Republic from liability in a case involving user-uploaded CSAM on its tube sites.

JustFor.fans Wins Trademark Infringement Case Against Fraudulent Domain

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has ruled in favor of JustFor.fans in a case against a website using an infringing domain.

Aylo Moves to Settle Two 'Children of Pornhub' Class-Action Lawsuits

Aylo has agreed to terms for a settlement with the plaintiffs in two long-running class actions over allegations that former Pornhub parent company MindGeek knowingly allowed and profited from CSAM on its sites.

Show More