'SCO' code could be written out of Linux

SCO Group's attempts to 'tax' the Linux community for copyright infringement are doomed to failure because developers will simply rewrite the Linux kernel, analyst Butler Group has predicted.

The analyst said that although a number of companies might pay SCO once for the UnixWare licences it claims they need, such an aggressive stance by SCO would not help it to sustain any long-term business relationships.

SCO is selling licences for Linux systems based on kernel version 2.4.x and later, claiming that Linux contains misappropriated Unix code taken from SCO. It may also take legal action against any company using Linux without that licence.

But Butler Group said that, even if SCO could prove that the Linux kernel includes its code, because of the nature of the open source community it will not be long before the SCO code is removed from the kernel.

"SCO ... appears to have forgotten about the real power of Linux: the 'community' of developers, both employed and otherwise, who are passionate about the GNU Public Licence software," said the analyst group.

"Even if SCO's claims are proven to be true that the 2.4 kernel and later does contain Unix code, the kernel will be rewritten.

"If the people that are in the community can produce a security patch for Linux six to 10 times faster than an equivalent from Microsoft for Windows, then a new kernel will not be long in coming and SCO can wave goodbye to its expected royalties."

Get the latest news, views and technology updates in a weekly round up of the Penguin's unstoppable march by signing up to vnunet.com's FREE Linux newsletter here.