The closure of the acquisition turns Provo, Utah-based Novell into a Linux powerhouse following its acquisition of Ximian Inc in August 2003, but also opens the door to a legal battle with SCO, which claims that Linux contains code illegally copied from its Unix Systems V code base.
In November 2003, Lindon, Utah-based SCO’s CEO, Darl McBride, said Novell would be in breach of a non-compete agreement between the two companies if it closed the acquisition of SuSE. To the extent that they complete the transaction we’ll take the appropriate measures, he said.
Novell denies that any such agreement exists and also argues that it, and not SCO, is the rightful owner of the Unix copyrights. Following the closure of the SuSE deal, the company is now prepared to put its money where its mouth is and has launched a indemnification program to protect Linux users from intellectual property claims.
This article is based on material originally published by ComputerWire
