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Path: sserve!manuel!munnari.oz.au!spool.mu.edu!news.cs.indiana.edu!mips!sdd.hp.com!usc!news From: merlin@neuro.usc.edu (merlin) Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd Subject: Re: UNIGRAM's article on the USL-BSDI suit Message-ID: <l7k72rINNgfn@neuro.usc.edu> Date: 1 Aug 92 05:08:43 GMT Article-I.D.: neuro.l7k72rINNgfn References: <1992Aug1.042344.23428@pasteur.Berkeley.EDU> <l7k5fqINNgc9@neuro.usc.edu> <l7k6maINNgeg@neuro.usc.edu> Sender: merlin@neuro.usc.edu (merlin) Organization: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA Lines: 42 NNTP-Posting-Host: neuro.usc.edu In article <> bostic@toe.CS.Berkeley.EDU (Keith Bostic) writes: > ... Unix System Labs didn't exactly want to sue the university, > but basically has no choice and regards this as a test case. AT&T/USL is going to regret this decision. UC Regents General Counsel's Office is extremely large, well financed, and backed up by some of the most prestigeous law schools in the country. Moreover, the UC Regents General Counsel's Office is capable of doing virtually anything which is necessary to win this suit. In a blind moment of panic, AT&T/USL seems to have forgotton the old cliche 'let sleeping dogs lay.' Bringing the UC Regents into this case was a serious mistake on AT&T/USL's part. Does anyone recall my initial prediction that this case wasn't a simple case of a big company trying to crush a tiny comeptitor -- instead, the people in control of the AT&T 'Death Star' had declared war on academia -- and as a result the case may have serious consequences for all of us? Well, I told you so [:-)]. I think it's time to start calling US Senator Dingel to begin a federal congressional investigation into AT&T's attempt to gain monopoly control over the 4.3BSD-NET2 distribution against the national interest. I also believe it is time to encourage the chairmen and faculty members in our computer science, engineering, and mathematics departments to get their own general counsels in contact with UC Regents General Counsel so that there will be literally dozens of well researched amicus briefs on file at each level of the judicial system where this case is reviewed. It is essential that the judges in this case be made aware that there is more at stake here than AT&T/USL's desire for a monopoly interest in UNIX -- the future competitiveness of US based computer science has been called into question. Amicus briefs from as many prestigeous universities and private organizations as possible would have a strong impact on a judge. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Alexander-James Annala Principal Investigator Neuroscience Image Analysis Network HEDCO Neuroscience Building, Fifth Floor University of Southern California University Park Los Angeles, CA 90089-2520 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------