[plug] Invoicing for stuff they haven't proved is theirs

[Milan Pospisil]

Hello Kai,
                I would not pay anything to them either, because in the highly unlikely scenario that they would win, the disputed code will be quickly removed and replaced and then one can argue that under the Australian  regulations they are required to show some reasonable effort towards a solution of the given problem if there is the possibility to do so. And clearly there is and they did nothing about it, quite on the contrary - they require anyone wanting to see the code in dispute to sign a secrecy agreement so that a solution could not be found.
 That might be all right in the state of Utah, but the situation is not necessarilly the same over here.
 However, what concerns me the most is the unwillingness of the local  authorities to do anything about this as this problem never existed. There is a whole array of government bureaucrats, consultants, advisors, system apparatchiks etc.sitting in their offices and so far not being of much use with respect to this matter. 
 And the problem goes far beyond the Linux community - there are other cases with the same common denominator: someone somewhere outside Australia takes a legal stand and starts demanding licence fees in Australia and unfortunately some, including government institutions, are willing to oblige.
 I am not greatly concern about SCO - they are crooks and one will never get rid of them completly; the problem starts when they get a de facto green light for their activities because of the inaction, inability and/or pure laziness of the local institutions. 
  IMHO, that is a real worry.

                                                                                  Milan Pospisil

>>>On 08/27/03 08:35am kai.jones at broome.wa.gov.au  wrote >>>
http://www.commentwire.com/commwire_story.asp?commentwire_ID=4733 
Isn't there a rule or something that prevents SCO from invoicing for
something that they haven't proven is theirs ?

"The company has also indicated, however, that should it lose such a case,
there are no provisions for refunding IP license fees."
Dodgy bastards, until it's proved in court I wouldn't pay anything.