Open source group won't hand over SCO docs

A leading free software group has vowed to fight portions of a request to release information that could help the SCO Group in its legal battle against Linux.

In the latest twist in SCO's $5bn lawsuit against IBM, the Free Software Foundation has said it does not plan to turn over certain internal documents and communications with key open-source proponents, as SCO had asked in a subpoena.

FSF general counsel Eben Moglen said: "I'm not going to permit a fishing expedition at the Free Software Foundation from a party that has shown a great deal of hostility to the Free Software Foundation and its community. We will not produce material that is the subject of attorney-client privilege, and I don't think anybody expects us to."

SCO sent the eight-page subpoena last November, but it was on hold for procedural reasons until April, and the FSF did not publish it on the web until this week. It asks the non-profit group for information about email and records of conversations between its staff, FSF founder Richard Stallman and Linux kernel creator Linus Torvalds, about the enforcement of free software licenses and the vetting of source code to ensure it is not intellectual property.

The subpoena also requests copies of any contracts or agreements the foundation might have with IBM, Red Hat, SuSE and any other "Linux distributor or company".

Moglen said that he was negotiating with SCO's lawyers and hoped to persuade them to narrow their request. "I will fight if compelled," he said. "I do not expect, at present, not to be able to reach an agreement. But I always expect to be able to reach an agreement with people acting in good faith."

SCO is taking a wait-and-see approach. SCO spokesman Marc Modersitzki said: "We believe their materials have some relevancy to our case. They mention, for example, that they have confidential documents relating to Unix, and we would be really interested in that." He noted, however, that until SCO reviews what the open-source group divulges, it's difficult to predict what role the information might have in its lawsuit against IBM.

SCO rattled the computing world in March 2003 when it filed a lawsuit against IBM, a case that has expanded to target AutoZone and DaimlerChrysler as well. SCO claims ownership of key Unix copyrights and alleges IBM moved Unix technology to Linux, thus violating its Unix contract with SCO. The company has since gone on to seek licensing fees from other Linux users.

IBM, however, says it believes it has a perpetual and irrevocable right to use Unix. Founded in 1985, the FSF is dedicated to promoting free software - meaning software that is distributed in an open-source manner under a license that means it must stay open - and is the coordinator of the GNU project. The operating system known as Linux relies on a wealth of GNU components.

Declan McCullagh and Dawn Kawamoto write for CNET News.com; Stephen Shankland also contributed to this report