SCO appeals Unix patent ruling in Novell case
Long-running dispute over Unix code will continue
By Nancy Gohring | Published: 10:24, 09 July 2010
Following a final ruling from a judge in the US District Court for the District of Utah in June, SCO Group on Wednesday filed an appeal in its long-running legal battle with Novell.
SCO asked the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider all rulings, including a jury verdict in March and a final judgement that came in June, or start a new trial.
In June, when the district court granted Novell's request for declaratory judgment and ruled against SCO's claims of slander and breach of good faith, many onlookers celebrated the end of the bitter fight. The Utah judge ordered the case closed.
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Still, the door was left open for an appeal and SCO has decided to continue to pursue the case.
The dispute dates back to 2003 when SCO sued IBM, claiming that it violated SCO's rights by contributing Unix code to Linux. The following year, SCO sued Novell, saying it falsely claimed rights to Unix.
SCO has lost most rulings along the way.
Neither SCO nor Novell responded to a request for comment about the appeal.
Many onlookers appear ready to see the end of the dispute, if comments posted on Groklaw, a site that has closely followed the case, are any measure. "Surely this can't go on forever?" one anonymous commenter wrote. "Can it?"
