SuSE has maintained that cross-licensing arrangements with SCO in the formation of UnitedLinux protect its Linux distribution from allegations of IP infringement.

With UnitedLinux the cross-licensing arrangements are in place, David Burger, SuSE VP of enterprise solutions, told ComputerWire. There’s a degree of what one might call fishing going on.

Burger’s comments followed claims from Chris Sontag, VP and general manager of SCO’s SCOsource IP licensing division that it is confident… that there are IP infringement issues in Linux and most major distributions.

Reports have indicated that SCO, which in March launched a $1bn lawsuit accusing IBM Corp of misappropriating its Unix technology and handing it to the Linux community, is also preparing to take on fellow Linux distributors that it feels have misappropriated its Unix code for use in Linux.

It would be a highly controversial move for SCO to chase SuSE for IP infringement. In May 2002 the two companies teamed up with Turbolinux Inc and Conectiva SA to form UnitedLinux LLC, which owns the brand and intellectual property for the UnitedLinux distribution.

SuSE heads up UnitedLinux product development and integration and owns a larger share of the company. As part of the deal that created UnitedLinux, SuSE also took on engineering staff from SCO.

As might be expected, SCO’s legal action and threats appear to be putting a strain on the UnitedLinux partnership. It’s a little more tense than it was, said Burger. We’re still meeting every week, although there are some aspects of those meetings that take place as a foursome and some that don’t.

Asked whether SuSE, Turbolinux and Conectiva were deliberately excluding SCO from conversations, or avoiding discussing certain matters in front of SCO, Burger said there was often a fine line between the two. Under the circumstances we’re facing you reconsider your relationships, he said.

Burger maintained that SuSE and its partners remain committed to the UnitedLinux 1.0 code and the UnitedLinux partnership, but that in the light of SCO’s actions the other partners, along with supporters such as IBM and Hewlett-Packard Co, are considering their options.

One could look to the future and surmise whether that’s something that continues to be constructive, he said.

Burger said that the UnitedLinux partners’ reaction to SCO would become clearer over the next four to six weeks, but in the meantime he maintained that concerns over IP were not impacting customer interest in Linux.

It is relevant, and they do have questions, he said. I think there’s disappointment from a number of partners and customers as to how and why it’s going on.

Despite concerns Burger maintained that SuSE has been doing good business so far this year with its server and desktop operating systems.

What we’ve seen this year is a massive shift in momentum in the market place, he said. It’s heading towards fever pitch. There’s dramatically more interest and a greater depth of interest. More decisions are being made and more commitment is being shown, certainly compared to last year.

Burger said that increased uptake of Linux is being driven by the completion of pilot projects, the move toward enterprise application projects from file and print deployments and the momentum created by enterprise hardware and software vendors such as IBM, HP, Oracle Corp and SAP AG.

More people are getting it, he said. The enterprise is now seeing Linux as a legitimate option.

Source: Computerwire