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HP Reserves Its Rights in SCO Bankruptcy - Mentions Litigation Resolved in 2003

By Pamela Jones et al.

HP has now joined the growing group of companies reserving its rights in the SCO bankrupty regarding SCO's Notice of Cure Amounts in connection with SCO's hoped-for sale of its assets. But its reason is different: it can't find all the contracts SCO says it has with HP, and neither can SCO. Significantly, HP tells the court:

8. For example, Hewlett-Packard has been unable to locate a copy of the Source License Agreement purportedly between Hewlett-Packard and Debtor SCO Group, Inc. that the trustee seeks to assume and assign. Hewlett-Packard has requested a copy of that agreement from the Trustee, but has not yet received it.

And here's the kicker -- HP says it was involved in litigation with SCO, resolved in 2003:

3. Prior to the petition date in the above-captioned bankruptcy cases, Hewlett- Packard and one or more of the above-captioned Debtors were parties to litigation concerning their respective rights to certain intellectual property. That litigation was resolved by the parties entry into a Release of Unix Claims and Agreement dated as of August 15, 2003 ("Release").

That's the first I've heard anyone call it litigation. Maybe I dropped a stitch, but I don't recall hearing about any resolved litigation at the time. I recall there were discussions, and Dr. Gary Pisano, SCO's expert witness in the second SCO v. Novell trial listed the agreement in his list of resources as part of his report, but this is the first time I've seen the word litigation used. Here's HP's 2003 press release archive. I also checked HP's FAQ [PDF] on its indemnification offer [PDF]. Not a peep. Linux Online has a SCO Controversy Timeline, and no word about any HP-SCO litigation or agreement in August of 2003. I also checked PACER. Nothing. So, how could that be? It's possible that SCO served HP with a summons with or without a complaint, and negotiations began and ended so fast they never got anything filed. Or maybe there is some aborted filing in some state court somewhere. Whatever the case, it's nice to have a fuller picture, and it ties off some loose ends in the history of SCO's god-forsaken quest.

Full post as published by Groklaw on November 25, 2010 (boomark / email).