SVR3 SVID compliance clause

[Robert_Toxen at harvard.HARVARD.EDU]

> From: Doug Gwyn  <gwyn at brl-smoke.arpa>
> Subject: Re: SVR3 SVID compliance clause
> 
> The real problem with the SVID compliance clause, as I understand it,
> is that it precludes non-SVID-compliant vendors, such as those who
> started with a 4.2BSD kernel, from adopting ANY part of SVR3, even in
> an attempt to transition to a SVID-compliant system.  This includes
> such important items as STREAMS and RFS.  Surely we would all be
> better off if such facilities could be picked up while the vendors
> worked to move their systems into SVID and/or POSIX compliance.

I'm of the opinion that this section of the 5.3 license would be found
invalid and unenforceable in a court of law on the basis that previous
licenses and AT&T's advertising, salesmen, and past practices implied that
purchasers of said previous releases would be entitled to updates for a
nominal fee.

Therefor this practice violates PREVIOUS licenses and purchasers would
be able to answer any of AT&T's suits with a countersuit for violating
the previous license agreements.  I would like to see someone with the
money and guts (and hopefully brains) to settle this matter.

The lawyers for UC Berkeley, DEC, and Stratus (where I work)
disagree with me.  I think that their disagreement is more due to
their lack of guts than firm legal practice (I'd like to hear what
statutes or decisions they base their opinions on) and the questionable
value of 5.3 anyway as well as the fact that AT&T could bury almost
anyone in legal fees even if their case is invalid.

In my 12 years of UN*X experience the only action I've heard of
AT&T taking against anyone was to ask Internation Technical Seminars,
Inc. to rename their "The UNIX Bookstore" to "The Independent UNIX
Bookstore".

AT&T has apparently not learned the lesson of the arab oil sheiks,
Detroit auto makers, and AT&T's own monopoly of Long Distance.  If you
gouge people sufficiently they will stab you in the back!

Of course, I'm not a lawyer and this should not be considered legal
advice.

Bob Toxen
Stratus Computer, Marlboro, Mass.
{ucbvax!ihnp4}!anvil!bob        (Please use THIS address to reply.)
"unix is a subset of inextinguishable" (Concept stolen from Roy Smith.)