Linux Ownership Dispute Finally Put to Rest

A long-standing dispute over Linux's ownership has effectively come to an end. The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently rejected Xinuos' appeal, which claimed that IBM and Red Hat improperly contributed jointly-developed Project Monterey UNIX code to Linux.

Xinuos had purchased SCO's UNIX business and IP in 2011 after SCO first complained about IBM's unauthorized use of UNIX code in Linux. The company then sued IBM and Red Hat in 2021, claiming that IBM knowingly breached its non-exclusive license by contributing Monterey code to Linux.

The U.S. District Court (SDNY) rejected this claim in 2022-2025, but Xinuos appealed again in August 2026. However, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that the case was too old to relitigate and that Xinuos framed it as licensing but was really arguing ownership, which is time-barred.

Xinuos now intends to seek a full-bench rehearing, but this is considered a long shot with only 0.03% of such hearings granted. IBM's defense law firm estimates the chances of a rehearing being granted as very low.