SCO halts Linux invoices

By Matt Whipp

Posted on 16 Oct 2003 at 17:31

SCO has said it has stopped issuing commercial users of Linux invoices for a its licence.

PR Director Blake Stowell told us the company was, 'very satisfied with the way things are going, so it's not something we feel we need to do at this point.'

He added the caveat that this was not necessarily a permanent decision. Furthermore, the licence will still be available. 'We're still approaching companies [to buy the licence], we're just not invoicing them.'

Stowell said that 'several other companies,' had taken up the licence since the company announced that a Fortune 500 company had signed up in August.

SCO came up with its umbrella Unixware licence at the back end of July to cover commercial Linux users from litigation by SCO in regard to its claim that Linux contains 'misappropriated' code in violation of SCO's IP rights.

Stowell said that the initial half price offer, which was to end 15 October, will now be extended until 31 October due to delays in the rollout.

Until that time, licences will cost from $32 for an embedded device or $199 per desktop, to $4,999 for an eight-processor Linux server.

A recent survey by Credit Suisse First Boston found that 84 per cent of US-based CIOs from Fortune 1000 firms or equivalents were not going to change their plans to roll out Linux, despite the SCO threat. And although the poll didn't verify whether this was because they were happy to pay SCO its tithe, it seems unlikely given the steep prices it has set.