A spokesperson for the 2003 USENIX Annual Technical Conference (to be held June 9-14 in San Antonio, TX) announced that the conference will provide the first public forum for the debate on infringement claims by SCO against Linux.

Chris DiBona, former Slashdot editor, Damage Studios founder, and Open Source spokesperson, will discuss the intellectual property issues at the heart of the SCO vs. IBM case and its implications for Linux kernel developers and distributors. DiBona was recently nominated by Linus Torvalds to represent the Open Source community on a proposed committee that would examine the Linux kernel for proprietary code. The session, co-sponsored by No Starch Press is scheduled for Thursday, June 12 at 4 p.m.

“The discussion will delve into the effects the SCO lawsuit will have on Linux and other Open Source technologies,” DiBona said. “We expect substantive debate that will enlighten those that attend. Ultimately, I am confident that Linux kernel developers are facile enough to deal with this kind of confusion with aplomb, and the end result will be an ever stronger Linux kernel.”

The SCO/Linux discussion is among the many highlights of the six day, multiple-track USENIX Annual Technical Conference which attracts many respected computing experts to share their research on topics including Open Source software, security, wireless computing, and nanotechnology. Neal Stephenson, award-winning science fiction author of novels including Snow Crash, The Diamond Age and Cryptonomicon will deliver the conference keynote.

Invited Talks and refereed technical papers serve as the foundation for the conference and reflect the continued growth of the Open Source software community with diverse topics including the latest features in the Linux 2.5 and FreeBSD 5.0 kernels, anti-spam techniques, and OSS experiences such as town-wide wireless deployment and a sub-orbital amateur rocket and support system by the Portland State Aerospace Society.

 
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