*BSD News Article 18030


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Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd,comp.bugs.4bsd
Path: sserve!newshost.anu.edu.au!munnari.oz.au!spool.mu.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!agate!headwall.Stanford.EDU!kithrup.com!sef
From: sef@kithrup.com (Sean Eric Fagan)
Subject: Re: 4.4BSD Release
Organization: Kithrup Enterprises, Ltd.
References: <20qdsj$6rt@agate.berkeley.edu> <ROB.93Jul1201153@gangrene.berkeley.edu> <JGREELY.93Jul6170732@morganucodon.cis.ohio-state.edu> <MIB.93Jul6194230@geech.gnu.ai.mit.edu>
Message-ID: <C9rsE8.8u1@kithrup.com>
Date: Wed, 7 Jul 1993 01:05:53 GMT
Lines: 22

In article <MIB.93Jul6194230@geech.gnu.ai.mit.edu> mib@geech.gnu.ai.mit.edu (Michael I Bushnell) writes:
>Wellp, you're wrong in this case.  All of those things: SCO, Xenix,
>Solaris, NextStep, BSD 4.3, etc., are in fact Unix.  They all use the
>AT&T code, and all have the right to call themselves Unix.  Some other
>thing (GNU, for example, or Linux, or 386 BSD) which don't include the
>AT&T Unix code, nor are derived from it, cannot call themselves Unix.

Actually, XENIX cannot be called UNIX, which is why, as one might
guess, it is called XENIX instead of UNIX.  Same for IRIX, etc.  Just
getting a source license and binary distribution license from AT&T/USL
did not give one the right to call the product "UNIX"; I know that
SCO paid for the right to call their product UNIX, and paid pretty
dearly.

Also, NeXTStep does not have the right to call itself UNIX, I believe,
and Solaris might or might not.

In addition, the fact is, the trademark on "UNIX" *is* disputed.  Just
one person saying he believed otherwise is enough to cause some suspicion,
and there are undoubtedly many, many others who feel the same, just as
there are almost certainly some who do not associate "UNIX" with USL.