COMMENT ON SCO VS. IBM UNIX-LINUX DEBATE BY CHAIRMAN OF EMBEDDED LINUX CONSORTIUM AND LYNUXWORKS CEO, DR. INDER SINGH

Dr. Inder Singh's view on SCO VS. IBM Courtcase

Background
In March, SCO Group Inc., a small Utah software firm, sued IBM for $1 billion, claiming that IBM misappropriated SCO Unix trade secrets by putting some of the Unix code into Linux. Instead of settling the case ahead of the 100-day deadline set by SCO, IBM will take the matter to court. Meanwhile, the SCO Group and Novell are embroiled in arguments over who actually owns the copyright for the Unix operating system. Novell says it did not transfer the Unix copyrights or patents to SCO when it sold the operating system to SCO in 1995.

LynuxWorks Stance on the Issue
The industry is still waiting to see proof of SCOs claims," said Dr. Inder Singh, CEO of LynuxWorks and chairman of the Embedded Linux Consortium. However, this debate is creating some unfortunate and unnecessary FUD" (fear, uncertainty, doubt) among Linux users. I predict that by the time SCOs claims are put to the legal test Linux programmers around the world will have already generated new open source code to patch" or bypass the portion currently in question -- and in effect, the debate will become a moot point. But regardless of the legal outcomes, Linux will continue to progress unimpeded as a robust, royalty free software solution. Linux has an infinite horizon and LynuxWorks will be there to support it all the way with our BlueCat Linux product line, as well as our LynxOS family of embedded operating systems which provide full Linux ABI compatibility."

LynuxWorks Customers Are Safe, Regardless of SCO Lawsuit Outcome
LynuxWorks is the only company to offer customers a complete family of Linux ABI- (application binary interface) compatible embedded operating systems -- from its royalty free BlueCat® Linux to BlueCat RT to its industry leading LynxOS® real-time operating system (RTOS). This approach enables customers to protect their investment and avoid the high cost-barriers and time-to-market penalties that changing embedded operating systems normally incurs. Applications can be easily moved between those that have been quickly and inexpensively developed with BlueCat Linux and those on the LynxOS real-time platform if and when real-time product requirements emerge -- with no costly or lengthy porting process.

In addition, the LynxOS source code was written in a clean-room" environment. That is, LynuxWorks created it from the ground up. In fact, the code was certified as such by AT&T (the former owner of UNIX), which stated that LynuxWorks can claim full ownership, patents and copyrights for the LynxOS code. Having previously completed this certification for LynxOS, LynuxWorks can apply the same process to its BlueCat code, if necessary.

About LynuxWorks
LynuxWorks is a world leader in the embedded software market, providing operating systems, software development products and consulting services for the worlds most successful communications, aerospace/defence, and consumer products companies. Established in 1988, the company is a technology leader in the real-time operating systems (RTOS) industry, and a founding member of the Embedded Linux Consortium (ELC). LynuxWorks headquarters are located in San Jose, California. For more information, please visit: http://www.lynuxworks.com.

LynuxWorks is a trademark and LynxOS is a registered trademark of LynuxWorks, Inc. Other brand or product names are registered trademarks or trademarks of the respective holders. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.

Please forward reader enquiries to:
Gerry Winckler, LynuxWorks
Immeuble le Florilege, 2 Allee de la Fresnerie, 78330 Fontenay-Le Fleury, FRANCE
Tel: +33 1 30 85 06 00; Fax: +33 1 30 85 06 06
Web: http://www.lnxw.com