[TUHS] Why BSD didn't catch on more, and Linux did

[clemc@ccc.com (Clem Cole)]

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On Wed, Feb 7, 2018 at 3:26 PM, Theodore Ts'o <tytso at mit.edu> wrote:

>
> AT&T's legal argument was against BSDI and UCB.  People
> misunderstanding the difference between Patent law and Trade Secret
> Law into thinking that we were all contaminated and Unix was Doomed
> (tm), wasn't, as far as I know, part of AT&T's lawsuit.
>

Sadly, yes it was so... (and I still have my 'mentally contaminated'
button).​  So now you do know,

Again this is why (and I have asked counsel this question) so what if they
had won?   I have been advised that all UNIX implementations would have
been subjected to the ruling world-wide or at least subject to a number
of treaties enforce in the USA and the EU (although how many AT&T would
have litigated against we will never know).   My friends that are lawyers
that have examined this question have said in practice it would have been
very hard to pursue (which may have been part of the reason the court did
what it did - i.e. the test could this be enforced).

It would have been very different world that I am fairly sure.

Clem
ᐧ
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