SCO suit now seeks $3 billion from IBM

SCO Group has upped the ante in an amendment to its suit against IBM, seeking more than $3 billion in damages for alleged copying of proprietary Unix intellectual property into Linux. In March, SCO Group surprised the world with a lawsuit seeking more than $1 billion against IBM in the case. An amended complaint, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Utah, added more claims against IBM, tripled damages to at least $3 billion, sought an injunction prohibiting IBM from selling Unix, and detailed some accusations of technology moved to Linux.

SCO seeks at least $1 billion in damages from IBM's alleged breach of its contract with SCO; another $1 billion for breach of the Unix contract signed by Sequent, which IBM acquired in 1999; and another $1 billion for unfair competition. SCO also seeks more for misappropriation of trade secrets and punitive damages. The amended suit also asserts that SCO holds copyrights to Unix, a point that could be key in future Linux and Unix litigation. Novell, which owned Unix intellectual property before selling it to SCO's predecessor, initially disputed SCO's ownership, but later relented.

However, the suit still makes no claims of copyright violation, which several independent attorneys believe could lead to stronger claims than that of trade secret infringement. After the Novell spat, SCO said it had not registered those trademarks. Independent attorneys say SCO must register the trademarks before basing legal action on them.

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