SCO just announced that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and while the company will apply the obligatory lipstick to this pig, you can expect the move to mark the beginning of the end for one of the industry's sorriest examples of wrongheaded patent-law abuse. (Correction: Don's got it right below. Don't blog past 4 on a Friday.)
And the only sobbing you'll hear will be from SCO employees and investors.
From the press release:
LINDON, Utah, Sept. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - The SCO Group, Inc. ("SCO") (Nasdaq: SCOX - News), a leading provider of UNIX® software technology and mobile services, today announced that it filed a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. SCO's subsidiary, SCO Operations, Inc., has also filed a petition for reorganization. The Board of Directors of The SCO Group have unanimously determined that Chapter 11 reorganization is in the best long-term interest of SCO and its subsidiaries, as well as its customers, shareholders, and employees.
The SCO Group intends to maintain all normal business operations throughout the bankruptcy proceedings. Subject to court approval, SCO and its subsidiaries will use the cash flow from their consolidated operations to meet their capital needs during the reorganization process.
Grave dancing has commenced over at Groklaw, which has long been a go-to destination for the legal nitty-gritty on this case. From the first comment posted:
How sad:-) ... Sad for the poor folk who used to make a decent living from a reasonable outfit until the gamblers jumped in anyway.
You might want to consider sending Darl a card.
(Update: Slashdot crowd also broken up.)
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Patents?
Nothing about patents in this case -- SCO actually claimed that Linux developers copied the actual code (SCO held no patents when it filed the original suit against IBM). They figured it would have been cheaper for IBM to pay them off than to fight it, and that's true--the first time it happens.
SCO
I dumped my SCO stock as soon as they started the lawsuit business. I hate to see a great company like SCO go down the tubes, but really, they have no one to blame but themselves. It's hard to convince your customers to stick around while you threaten to sue them. It's even harder to grow your customer base with that type of business model.