SCO have finally decided which end user to sue first. It’s a company called AutoZone. For those of you not familiar with the suit, AutoZone was named specifically by SCO in February in the interogatory responses as a party in IBM’s misappropriation of SCO IP.
From the AutZone Website: AutoZone is a Memphis-based auto parts chain that opened its first store in Forrest City, AR, on July 4, 1979. A public company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (AZO), AutoZone had sales of more than $4.5 billion in fiscal 2000. The nearly 3,000 stores in 42 U.S. states and Mexico are all company-operated – there are no franchises. AutoZone, a Fortune 500 company, is opening more stores per year than any other retail auto parts chain in the nation.
Read more for a reproduction of the article on Groklaw announcing the news.
It’s AutoZone. They are asking for “injunctive relief against AutoZone’s further use or copying of any part of SCO’s copyrighted materials and also requests damages as a result of AutoZone’s infringement in an amount to be proven at trial.” The case was filed in Nevada. The paid Pacer site for Nevada federal court is here but I checked and nothing is up there yet. It usually takes a day or two to make it into Pacer. Note the page says Internet Explorer is required, but it isn’t.
You might remember AutoZone from SCO’s Supplemental Response to Interrogatory Number 8, in IBM’s Exhibit 1, which you can find here. Press release here or here.
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SCO Files Copyright Infringement Lawsuit Against AutoZone
LAS VEGAS, Mar 3, 2004 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ — The SCO Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOX), the owner of the UNIX(R) operating system and a leading provider of UNIX-based solutions, today announced it has filed suit against AutoZone, Inc., for its alleged violations of SCO’s UNIX copyrights through its use of Linux.
SCO’s lawsuit alleges the following:
* AutoZone violated SCO’s UNIX copyrights by running versions of the Linux operating system that contain code, structure, sequence and/or organization from SCO’s proprietary UNIX System V code in violation of SCO’s copyrights.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Nevada, requests injunctive relief against AutoZone’s further use or copying of any part of SCO’s copyrighted materials and also requests damages as a result of AutoZone’s infringement in an amount to be proven at trial.
The company will discuss this announcement as part of its regularly scheduled conference call related to first quarter earnings, scheduled for Wednesday, March 3 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time. To participate on the call, individuals may dial 1-800-818-5264 or 1-913-981-4910 and use the confirmation code: 141144. Alternatively, a listen-only live web cast is available at http://ir.sco.com/medialist.cfm. Call participants are encouraged to dial in 15 minutes before the scheduled start time.