SuSE: SCO poses no legal threat

An agreement with SCO Group protects Linux seller SuSE from legal action stemming from SCO's accusation that Unix software was copied into Linux, SuSE said.

"We have a joint development agreement with them, which includes appropriate cross-licensing arrangements," said SuSE spokesman Joe Eckert on Friday. "Our lawyers feel that covers us from any actions that SCO may take."

SCO on Thursday said it had found cases in which source code underlying the proprietary Unix operating system--the rights to which the Lindon, Utah-based company owns--had been copied into Linux, an open-source clone of Unix. If SCO can prove its allegation, resulting copyright infringement issues could pose a challenge to companies that sell Linux, legal experts have said.

Asked if SCO planned legal action against Red Hat and SuSE, SCO Chief Executive Darl McBride told CNET News.com, "There's a point in time that has to be resolved with those guys, too." However, he said such action isn't currently part of SCO's legal proceedings, which are concentrated on a billion-dollar lawsuit alleging that IBM misappropriated SCO's Unix trade secrets and moved them into Linux. Proving that code was copied will require that SCO show the instructions aren't just an independent recreation of a particular method, said Illuminata analyst Jonathan Eunice.

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