According to a Forbes report, SCO has uncovered IBM e-mail discussions revealing that IBM was improperly using SCO Unix (SVR4) System V Release 4 code in its AIX 5L operating system on the Power architecture. SCO will neither confirm nor deny this report, but sources close to the Lindon, Utah, Unix company indicate that the Forbes report is essentially accurate.
This new take on SCO Unix code being used illegally within AIX is a tangent from The SCO Group Inc.’s claims that IBM had taken Unix source code and placed it in Linux.Michael R. Graham, intellectual property attorney and partner with Chicago-based law firm Marshall, Gerstein & Borun LLP, said the claim gives IBM something new to worry about.
“SCO’s allegations that IBM has incorporated unlicensed SVR4 code into its Unix-based AIX 5L operating system software for its PowerPC opens an entirely new avenue of concern for IBM,” Graham said.”These allegations do not directly impact SCO’s original complaint that IBM incorporated Unix code into its modifications of Linux. However, if proven, they could throw a shadow over IBM’s claims of innocence, providing evidence which SCO would argue demonstrates that IBM plays fast and loose with code it licenses.”
News source: eWeek
