*BSD News Article 3173


Return to BSD News archive

Path: sserve!manuel!munnari.oz.au!news.hawaii.edu!ames!haven.umd.edu!darwin.sura.net!jvnc.net!rutgers!ub!csn!raven!rcd
From: rcd@raven.eklektix.com (Dick Dunn)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd
Subject: Re: UNIGRAM's article on the USL-BSDI suit
Summary: comparing the code isn't enough
Message-ID: <1992Aug5.231650@eklektix.com>
Date: 5 Aug 92 23:16:50 GMT
References: <KANDALL.92Aug5175428@globalize.nsg.sgi.com> <15o75lINNfi9@agate.berkeley.edu> <25238@dog.ee.lbl.gov>
Organization: eklektix - Boulder, Colorado
Lines: 18

torek@horse.ee.lbl.gov (Chris Torek) writes:
[discussion of "UNIX family tree"]
>In any case, many of the things that make UNIX `commercial-grade' software
>(this phrase is actually something of a put-down :-) ) today owe their
>existence to CSRG.  Examples include:
....[some key examples, by no means all of CSRG's contributions]...
>What does this mean in terms of the suit?  Not much, actually; further
>speculation is pointless until we see more details.

I think the additions to UNIX drawn from CSRG work *are* relevant to one
particular issue: the idea that comparing BSD and USL code would tell
whether there has been infringement.  If you find a strong resemblance
between code in SVR4 and code in Net 2, it's probably because the SVR4 code
is derived from BSD work.  For a comparison to make sense, you've got to go
back to 32V and compare *that* to Net 2.
-- 
Dick Dunn    rcd@raven.eklektix.com   -or-   raven!rcd    Boulder, Colorado
   ...I'm not cynical - just experienced.