Open letter to the open-source community: The most controversial issue in the information technology industry today is the battle over software copyrights and intellectual property. This battle is being fought largely between vendors who create and sell proprietary software, and the open-source community. SCO Group became a focus of this controversy when we filed a lawsuit against IBM alleging that SCO's proprietary Unix code had been illegally copied into the free Linux operating system. In doing this, we angered some in the open-source community by pointing out intellectual property problems that exist in the Linux software development model. This debate about open-source software is healthy. It offers long-term benefits to the industry by addressing a new business model in advance of wide-scale adoption by customers. But last month, two developments occurred that adversely affect the long-term credibility of the open-source community, with the public and with customers. The first development followed another series of denial-of-service attacks on SCO last month. These were the second and third such attacks in four months and have prevented Web users from accessing our website and doing business with SCO. There is no question about the affiliation of the attacker - open-source leader Eric Raymond said he was contacted by the perpetrator and that 'he's one of us'. To Mr Raymond's partial credit, he asked the attacker to stop. However, he has yet to disclose the perpetrator's identity. The second development was an admission by open-source leader Bruce Perens that Unix System V code (owned by SCO) is in Linux, when it should not be. Mr Perens said there is 'an error in the Linux developer's process' which allowed Unix System V code to end up in the Linux kernel. Nothing can change the fact that a Linux developer on the payroll of Silicon Graphics stripped copyright attributions from copyrighted System V code that was licensed to Silicon Graphics under strict conditions of use, and then contributed that source code into Linux as though it was controlled by SGI. This is a clear violation of SGI's contract and copyright obligations to SCO. We are working to try to resolve these issues with SGI. This improper contribution of Unix code by SGI into Linux reveals fundamental flaws in the Linux development process. The copyright rules that underlie SCO's case are not disputable. Rather than ignore or challenge copyright laws, open-source developers will advance their cause by respecting the rules of law. Finally, it is clear that the open source community needs a business model that is sustainable if it is to grow beyond a part-time avocation into an enterprise-trusted development model. Free open-source software primarily benefits large vendors that sell hardware and expensive services that support Linux, but not Linux itself. By providing open-source software without a warranty, these large vendors avoid significant costs while increasing their services revenue. Today, that is the only viable open-source business model. A sustainable business model for software development can be built only on an intellectual property foundation. I invite the open-source community to explore these possibilities. Further, SCO is open to ideas of working with the open-source community to monetise software technology and its underlying intellectual property for all contributors, not just SCO. In the meantime, I will continue to protect SCO's intellectual property and contractual rights. Respect for intellectual property is not optional - it is mandatory. Darl McBride Chief executive The SCO Group
