SCO threatens to pull SGI's Unix licence

High-end computer maker Silicon Graphics Incorporated is in line to become the next target of Linux opponent SCO Group, with the controversial software seller threatening to revoke SGI's Unix licence.

SGI revealed the expected move in a regulatory document filed earlier this week with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing included a statement detailing the company's plans to revoke SGI's licence to distribute products based on Unix code that SCO controls.

The move would mirror similar actions that SCO took earlier this year against computing giant IBM, SCO's main opponent in its legal battle against the open-source Linux operating system.

The SGI filing said: "We have received a letter from SCO Group alleging that, as a result of our activities related to the Linux operating system, we are in breach of the fully paid licence under which we distribute our Irix operating system. The letter purports to terminate our Unix System V licence effective 14 October, 2003. We believe that the SCO Group's allegations are without merit and that our fully paid licence is non-terminable. There can be no assurance that this dispute with SCO Group will not escalate into litigation."

SCO executives singled out SGI's XFS file system software for Linux during an August presentation in which they identified potentially infringing Linux elements.

SCO's letter doesn't mention any specific pieces of software. It says that by contributing to unspecified software products, "SGI flagrantly permitted the copying and use of our proprietary information."

Greg Estes, vice president of corporate marketing for SGI, said the SCO letter was vague and wasn't followed by any attempt to discuss the issues.

"They haven't talked to us about any specifics," he said. "We got a letter from them - I wouldn't characterise that as negotiation. We didn't even get a courtesy call from them."

David Becker writes for News.com