If you’re into open source, then chances are that you’ve heard about the SCO/Linux debacle. For those of you that have been living under a rock, in a cave, or some other form of secluded living environment since mid-2003, here’s the scoop: SCO, a UNIX vendor (and former Linux vendor known throughout the land as Caldera Systems), sued IBM in March, 2003, alleging that Big Blue had misappropriated code from its UNIX offerings by placing them in Linux. After sending letters to a number of known Linux-using companies about their alleged “infringement,” SCO then filed lawsuits against several of these companies, including AutoZone and DaimlerChrysler, claiming that they owed SCO royalties for using their intellectual property. Problem was, SCO kept on refusing to specify what, exactly, had been copied from their UNIX to Linux.

This, naturally, got the open source community to cry foul.

Well, it looks like there may finally be a light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak. Chances are that if you’ve heard anything about this case, you heard about SCO’s case taking a nasty beating at the end of June, when a federal magistrate judge threw out 187 of 198 that IBM had challenged as being too vague, meaning that SCO only has around 100 claims remaining at this time. Their stock has plummeted to the lowest levels it has reached since the suit was filed, and it’s beginning to look like SCO is quickly running out of steam. The order to throw out the claims was reaffirmed on November 30th, meaning that while SCO can challenge the judge’s findings, two judges have now declared a good chunk of SCO’s case to be meritless.

All I can say is, it’s about time the bullies over at SCO got what they deserved. To use open source projects as a way to boost your lagging proprietary product is stupid, cruel, and unfair to all those programmers who spent so much time and energy to give the Linux kernel the attention it needed. Furthermore, using the American legal system as a lottery to jack up the price of your stock is paramount to theft on a grand scale, and it would be fitting to see SCO’s executives in the kind of peril that they deserve. So, ladies and gentlemen, the next time you decide to screw with the open source movement, you’d better make sure you can take the heat.