The text of the letter follows below. I have linked from the letter to example "violations" found in my Linux 2.4 source code directory. Note that some of the "serious" "copyright protected code" include (and I would contend are limited to) such intellectually important insights such as definitions of error constants:
#define EIO 5 /* I/O error */extremely complicated algorithms like deciding whether a character is a uppercase:
#define _U 0x01 /* upper */ ... #define __ismask(x) (_ctype[(int)(unsigned char)(x)]) ... #define isupper(c) ((__ismask(c)&(_U)) != 0)and complex structures for storing process control information:
/* used by in-kernel data structures */
struct kern_ipc_perm
{
key_t key;
uid_t uid;
gid_t gid;
uid_t cuid;
gid_t cgid;
mode_t mode;
unsigned long seq;
};
I'm certainly surprised that SCO has not attempted to copyright the phrase "Hello, world!"
in order to extort every beginning programmer out of thousands of dollars...
Note that there have also been allegations that Microsoft has funneled more than $80 million to SCO to prop up SCO's bleak financial situation - it is rumored that SCO would be more than $15 million in debt in 2004 without this assistance from Microsoft-controlled organizations. (This source confirms the link, but suggests that the support was only $50 million.)
December 19, 2003
Re: The SCO Group, Inc. ("SCO")
Dear Linux User,
In May 2003, SCO warned about enterprise use of the Linux operating system in
violation of its intellectual property rights in UNIX technology. Without exhausting or
explaining all potential claims, this letter addresses one specific area in which certain
versions of Linux violate SCO’s rights in UNIX.
In this letter we are identifying a portion of our copyright protected code that has
been incorporated into Linux without our authorization. Also, our copyright management
information has been removed from these files.
These facts support our position that the use of the Linux operating system in a
commercial setting violates our rights under the United States Copyright Act, including
the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. We are notifying you of these facts so you can
take steps to discontinue these violations. We believe these violations are serious, and we
will take appropriate actions to protect our rights. No one may use our copyrighted code
except as authorized by us. The details of our position are set forth below. Once you
have reviewed our position, we will be happy to further discuss your options and work
with you to remedy this problem.
Certain copyrighted application binary interfaces ("ABI Code") have been copied
verbatim from our copyrighted UNIX code base and contributed to Linux for distribution
under the General Public License ("GPL") without proper authorization and without
copyright attribution. While some application programming interfaces ("API Code")
have been made available over the years through POSIX and other open standards, the
UNIX ABI Code has only been made available under copyright restrictions. AT&T made
these binary interfaces available in order to support application development to UNIX
operating systems and to assist UNIX licensees in the development process. The UNIX
ABIs were never intended or authorized for unrestricted use or distribution under the
GPL in Linux. As the copyright holder, SCO has never granted such permission.
Nevertheless, many of the ABIs contained in Linux, and improperly distributed under the
GPL, are direct copies of our UNIX copyrighted software code.
Any part of any Linux file that includes the copyrighted binary interface code
must be removed. Files in Linux version 2.4.21 and other versions that incorporate the
copyrighted binary interfaces include:
include/asm-alpha/errno.h
include/asm-arm/errno.h
include/asm-cris/errno.h
include/asm-i386/errno.h
include/asm-ia64/errno.h
include/asm-m68k/errno.h
include/asm-mips/errno.h
include/asm-mips64/errno.h
include/asm-parisc/errno.h
include/asm-ppc/errno.h
include/asm-ppc64/errno.h
include/asm-s390/errno.h
include/asm-s390x/errno.h
include/asm-sh/errno.h
include/asm-sparc/errno.h
include/asm-sparc64/errno.h
include/asm-x86_64/errno.h
include/asm-alpha/signal.h
include/asm-arm/signal.h
include/asm-cris/signal.h
include/asm-i386/signal.h
include/asm-ia64/signal.h
include/asm-m68k/signal.h
include/asm-mips/signal.h
include/asm-mips64/signal.h
include/asm-parisc/signal.h
include/asm-ppc/signal.h
include/asm-ppc64/signal.h
include/asm-s390/signal.h
include/asm-s390x/signal.h
include/asm-sh/signal.h
include/asm-sparc/signal.h
include/asm-sparc64/signal.h
include/asm-x86_64/signal.h
include/linux/stat.h
include/linux/ctype.h
lib/ctype.c
include/asm-alpha/ioctl.h
include/asm-alpha/ioctls.h
include/asm-arm/ioctl.h
include/asm-cris/ioctl.h
include/asm-i386/ioctl.h
include/asm-ia64/ioctl.h
include/asm-m68k/ioctl.h
include/asm-mips/ioctl.h
include/asm-mips64/ioctl.h
include/asm-mips64/ioctls.h
include/asm-parisc/ioctl.h
include/asm-parisc/ioctls.h
include/asm-ppc/ioctl.h
include/asm-ppc/ioctls.h
include/asm-ppc64/ioctl.h
include/asm-ppc64/ioctls.h
include/asm-s390/ioctl.h
include/asm-s390x/ioctl.h
include/asm-sh/ioctl.h
include/asm-sh/ioctls.h
include/asm-sparc/ioctl.h
include/asm-sparc/ioctls.h
include/asm-sparc64/ioctl.h
include/asm-sparc64/ioctls.h
include/asm-x86_64/ioctl.h
include/linux/ipc.h
include/linux/acct.h
include/asm-sparc/a.out.h
include/linux/a.out.h
arch/mips/boot/ecoff.h
include/asm-sparc/bsderrno.h
include/asm-sparc/solerrno.h
include/asm-sparc64/bsderrno.h
include/asm-sparc64/solerrno.h
The code identified above was also part of a settlement agreement between the
University of California at Berkeley and Berkeley Systems Development, Inc.
(collectively "BSDI") and UNIX Systems Laboratories, Inc. regarding alleged violations
by BSDI of USL’s rights in UNIX technology. The settlement agreement between USL
and BSDI addressed conditions upon which BSDI could continue to distribute its version
of UNIX, BSD Lite 4.4, or any successor versions, including certain "UNIX Derived
Files" which include the ABI Code. A complete listing of the UNIX Derived Files is
attached. The ABI Code identified above is part of the UNIX Derived Files and, as such,
must carry USL / SCO copyright notices and may not be used in any GPL distribution,
inasmuch as the affirmative consent of the copyright holder has not been obtained, and
will not be obtained, for such a distribution under the GPL.
Use in Linux of any ABI Code or other UNIX Derived Files identified above
constitutes a violation of the United States Copyright Act. Distribution of the copyrighted
ABI Code, or binary code compiled using the ABI code, with copyright management
information deleted or altered, violates the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA")
codified by Congress at 17 U.S.C. §1202. DMCA liability extends to those who have
reasonable grounds to know that a distribution (or re-distribution as required by the GPL)
of the altered code or copyright information will induce, enable, facilitate, or conceal an
infringement of any right under the DMCA. In addition, neither SCO nor any
predecessor in interest has ever placed an affirmative notice in Linux that the copyrighted
code in question could be used or distributed under the GPL. As a result, any distribution
of Linux by a software vendor or a re-distribution of Linux by an end user that contains
any of the identified UNIX code violates SCO’s rights under the DMCA, insofar as the
distributor knows of these violations.
As stated above, SCO’s review is ongoing and will involve additional disclosures
of code misappropriation. Certain UNIX code, methods and concepts, which we also
claim are being used improperly in Linux, will be produced in the pending litigation
between SCO and IBM under a confidentiality order.
Thank you for your attention to these matters.
Sincerely,
THE SCO GROUP, INC.
By:______________________________
Ryan E. Tibbitts
General Counsel