[TriLUG] SCO and what I'd like to see..

[Michael Alan Dorman]

Greg Brown <gregbrown at mindspring.com> writes:
> ..and no, it's not McBride burning in effigy (though that does sound
> like a good idea).  No, what I'd like to see is a one page document
> written up by a lawyer detailing EXACTLY why anyone should not, as a
> company or end user running Linux, be afraid of this lawsuit.  I DO
> NOT WANT ONE SINGLE COMPANY to pay squat to SCO in license fees.  I DO
> NOT ONE SIGNLE COMPANY to be lied to by M$ saying how wincrap is now
> "less expensive" than Linux and how running Windows would indemnify
> one from legal action without a single page, easy to understand
> document detailing why this is all a load of crap.
>
> A good start for that $1 million RH pledged is to get a one sheet
> legal paper prepared by INDEPENDENT lawyers (or a lawyer specializing
> in IP) covering all 50 states detailing exactly why this case is BS.
> It has to be one sheet and it has to be easy to read and understand
> and it has to have a URL pointing back to a web portal (and I hate
> that term) detailing exactly why the case in BS, why they shouldn't
> license, and why they shouldn't believe any of the SCO or M$ FUD
> surrounding this case.
>
> That's my wish list.
>
> I know that someday I would regret the decision not to continue on to
> law school.  I guess that day has arrived.  Honestly I don't know what
> I would do with a JD if I had one, though I would think I would know
> EXACTLY how far I could push this civil disobedience issue before I
> actually broke a law.

Well, what you want can't really be done, because that would require
the person who wrote the document acting as counsel for anyone who
made decisions based on it, and being liable for malpractice, etc.

However, Eben Moglen, who works with the FSF did write a short
document discussing why the requests for licensing are probably crap
and detailing questions that the counsel of an entity approached by
SCO should ask.

http://www.osdl.org/docs/osdl_eben_moglen_position_paper.pdf

Mike
-- 
Write it in the sky in mother of pearl -- Wendy & Lisa