SCO Doesn't Plan More Suits Against Linux UsersSCO Doesn't Plan More Suits Against Linux Users

The SCO Group Inc. on Wednesday said it doesn't plan to file additional lawsuits related to its claims that Linux violates the company's intellectual property rights, until final court decisions are reached on pending cases.

Darl McBride, chief executive of the Lindon, Utah, company, will wait for decisions in SCO's lawsuits against IBM and AutoZone Inc. before deciding whether to move ahead with additional litigation, company spokesman Blake Stowell said in a telephone interview from the SCO Forum convention in Las Vegas.

"Our strategy for now is to focus all of our legal team's resources on our current cases," Stowell said. "The outcome from the legal system will set the precedent for how we will proceed with any future litigation."

McBride is satisfied with the cases already pending in various courts, and believes additional suits at this time would waste money and resources, Stowell said.

SCO's lawsuit against Linux customer AutoZone claims the auto-parts retailer's use of Linux infringes upon SCO copyrights to Unix System V code, which SCO claims is in the open-source operating system. AutoZone, however, has asked for a stay until a suit Linux distributor Red Hat Inc. has filed against SCO is resolved.

Experts say a stay in proceedings in the AutoZone case could damage SCO's plans to convince all Linux users they face legal risk if they refuse to purchase SCO software licenses. Earlier this year, a federal judge issued a stay in proceedings in the Red Hat case until the SCO-IBM case is decided.

"If our company is successful in showing in the AutoZone case that Linux does include SCO's copyrighted code, then it will make it a lot easer to convince customers that they should purchase a SCO intellectual-property license, or engage in litigation with us," Stowell said.

In the IBM case, SCO is seeking $5 billion in damages, claiming IBM violated its Unix license by contributing SCO's copyrighted code to Linux. IBM has denied the allegations and has counter-sued for patent infringement and other claims. The trial on SCO's suit is scheduled for next year.