SYDNEY, Australia -- 28 May 2003 -- The Australian UNIX and Open Systems User Group (AUUG, Inc.) today called on SCO (formerly Caldera) to cease its destructive actions and work toward the constructive resolution of any intellectual property (IP) issues SCO has with the Linux and Open Source communities. AUUG further called on SCO to publicly identify any IP violations in Linux so the issues can be resolved as soon as possible.

AUUG is vendor neutral, but it is compelled to address these issues because of its pro UNIX and Open Source mission and its commitment to ensure that all parties respect the intellectual property rights of authors and vendors, and that they are free to license their IP under the license of their choice.

AUUG believes healthy debate requires the airing of all viewpoints and has thus invited Kieran O'Shaughnessy, Managing Director of SCO Australia, to address AUUG members at the AUUG NSW Chapter meeting on 29 May 2003. Interested non-members may also attend the meeting. On the express wish of SCO, the press will not be admitted.

In the past SCO has been a valued contributor to the Open Source industry. It published OpenLinux and UnitedLinux under the GPL for many years and released "Ancient UNIX" under a BSD style license in January 2002. Since then SCO appears to have completely changed its position. Its recent attitude towards perceived IP violations include threatening statements and letters to corporate Linux users and industry partners. There is no evidence of any constructive actions. SCO's actions appear to be intended to cause maximum harm to the Linux industry. This leaves SCO's motives open to ridicule and speculation.

AUUG observes that these actions have already made SCO the target of a counter lawsuit and believes that there will be more.

SCO has implied that identifying specific IP problems will allow the Linux community to fix the problems and erase the evidence. The latter is clearly false: Linux source code is on historical record on CDs and servers across the globe. Further, AUUG believes that "fixing the problem" must be the priority both for SCO and the Open Source industry. If SCO does not help fix the problem, it can only weaken their position.

"In summary, AUUG condemns SCO's actions." said Greg Lehey, AUUG President. "We believe that it will do good for neither Linux, UNIX nor SCO. We believe that the manner in which SCO is attempting to protect their intellectual property is inappropriate and damaging to SCO. We have already seen the first cases of legal action against SCO, and it is reasonable to expect more. The only people who stand to gain from the situation are those companies that compete with UNIX and Linux."

About AUUG Incorporated
AUUG Inc. is the Australian UNIX and Open Systems User Group, a professional association for end users, corporations, developers and vendors that promotes UNIX® and related systems, including Linux and BSD. Dating from 1975, AUUG is a national body with chapters that organise local activities in most capital cities.

AUUG Inc.
PO Box 7071
Baulkham Hills BC NSW 2153
Australia
Free Call 1800 625 655, Fax 02 8824 9522
International: Tel +61 2 8824 9511, Fax +61 2 8824 9522
E-mail: auug@auug.org.au
ABN 15 645 981 718