Groklaw#Additional projects

According to a 2003 interview with Jones, the blog was started to cover legal news and to explain it to the tech community.[http://www.groklaw.net/staticpages/index.php?page=20031004190519196 Interview with PJ by Michael J. Jordan of Linux Online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100505112956/http://www.groklaw.net/staticpages/index.php?page=20031004190519196 |date=2010-05-05 }}, July 31, 2003, (Copy at Groklaw)

The first article, titled "The Grokster Decision – Ode To Thomas Jefferson", was about the effect of P2P on the music industry, and the then-recent judgement in MGM Studios, Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd. by Judge Steven Wilson in favor of the defendants. The article also covered the previous Napster decision, and why it was different, causing Napster to be shut down. The article included a quotation from Thomas Jefferson and references to David Boies, who was Napster's attorney.

The second post, on May 17, 2003, also covered legal issues – the SCO v. IBM lawsuit – titled "SCO Falls Downstairs, Hitting its Head on Every Step". It criticized Caldera Systems for the way they were handling the suit outside of court, and quoted Bruce Perens, Richard Stallman, Steve Ballmer, and Linus Torvalds. It ended:

:David Boies has agreed to represent SCO. I am trying to remind myself that our legal system is predicated on lawyers sometimes representing people they don't personally admire, and the system really does depend on someone being willing to take on unpopular clients. I know Boies doesn't use email, or at least he didn't the last time I checked. So maybe he doesn't quite get the tech ... ah, hang it all, there's no way around it: I feel bad he's chosen to represent them, especially after I posted an Ode singing his praises, and I hope he loses.

The blog soon became popular with the free software and open source communities and others, and attracted a community of volunteers and commenters. Its popularity caused it to outgrow Radio Userland, and on November 22, 2003, the standalone Groklaw website, hosted by ibiblio and using Geeklog software, was up and running.{{Cite web |url=http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=2007042819571717 |title=Groklaw article "SCO Tried to Gag Groklaw in 2004" |access-date=2007-11-24 |archive-date=2007-07-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070713103053/http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=2007042819571717 |url-status=live }}

{{SCO Controversy}}

{{More citations needed section|date=November 2012}}

Jones's writing came to focus mainly on the Caldera Systems v. IBM litigation (Caldera Systems changed its name to The SCO Group during this time). Other issues were explored, including intellectual property and patent issues (for example, Microsoft's IP claims against Linux, and the drafting of the GPL version 3). Groklaw was known for its contributors' ability to explain complex legal issues in simple terms, and for the research used in putting together articles. Members of the Groklaw community attended court hearings[http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20071116182911261 Groklaw article "Reports from the Hearing"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100505033631/http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20071116182911261 |date=2010-05-05 }}, November 16, 2007. and interviewed movers and shakers in the software/IP world.[http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20071118205358171 Groklaw article "BBC's Ashley Highfield, interviewed by Sean Daly -- 'The Solution Is To Move Beyond DRM'"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100505033613/http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20071118205358171 |date=2010-05-05 }}, November 18, 2007 @ 10:24 PM EST

The site became a community effort. While Jones understood law, she was not a programmer. Many readers were techies, however, and when technical issues arose they provided relevant comments.{{citation needed|date=November 2012}} This enabled Groklaw to solicit guest commentary on issues such as:

• Linux kernel coding practices
• C language programming
• Operating systems programming
• Operating systems history
• Standards organizations

Each of these issues appeared to have some application to the SCO v. IBM case{{citation needed|date=November 2012}}, and most were revisited many times. Additional topics included later lawsuits by The SCO Group against Daimler Chrysler, AutoZone, and Novell, the countersuit by Red Hat, and their implications and Microsoft's attempt to fast-track OOXML as an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard.[http://www.groklaw.net/articlebasic.php?story=20080227031234460 Groklaw article "OOXML: An Obscured Business Suggestion & Microsoft Fined Again"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141023064927/http://www.groklaw.net/articlebasic.php?story=20080227031234460 |date=2014-10-23 }}, February 27, 2008 @

Groklaw was cited by the attorneys for several firms in law journal articles. It also won awards:

• 2012 – ABA Journal Blawg 100{{Cite web |url=http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/6th_annual_blawg_100/ |title=6th Annual ABA Journal Blawg 100 |access-date=2012-11-29 |archive-date=2018-12-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181221140045/http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/6th_annual_blawg_100/ |url-status=live }}
• 2010 – The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) Pioneer Award{{Cite web |url=https://www.eff.org/press/archives/2010/10/19 |title=Transparency Activist, Public Domain Scholar, Legal Blogger, and Imprisoned E-Voting Researcher Win Pioneer Awards |date=19 October 2010 |access-date=2010-10-20 |archive-date=2020-08-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801134014/https://www.eff.org/press/archives/2010/10/19 |url-status=live }}
• 2009 – Top 200 Tech Blogs: The Datamation 2009 List "The famed Groklaw is still going strong, far past the SCO case that first brought the blog to prominence."[https://archive.today/20120710165501/http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/columns/article.php/31771_3842771_8/Top-200-Tech-Blogs-The-Datamation-2009-List.htm Top 200 Tech Blogs: The Datamation 2009 List]
• 2008 – The Award for Projects of Social Benefit – The Free Software Foundation (FSF)

{{cite press release

|title=Harald Welte and Groklaw announced as winners of the FSF's annual free software awards

|publisher=Free Software Foundation

|date=2008-03-19

|url=http://www.fsf.org/news/2007_free_software_awards

|access-date=2008-03-20

|url-status=dead

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150318022137/http://www.fsf.org/news/2007_free_software_awards

|archive-date=2015-03-18

}}

• 2007 – Knowledge Masters Award for Innovation – Knowledge Trust and the Louis Round Wilson Academy{{cite press release

|title = The Knowledge Trust ^SM Innovation Award for furthering the creative and innovative use of, and balanced access to, the world's recorded knowledge.

|publisher = The Knowledge Trust

|date = 2007-09-20

|url = http://theknowledgetrust.org/wordpress/index.php?s=groklaw

|access-date = 2008-03-20

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110728094852/http://theknowledgetrust.org/wordpress/index.php?s=groklaw

|archive-date = 2011-07-28

|url-status = dead

}}

• 2007 – Best FUD Fighter – Google-O'Reilly Open Source Awards{{Cite web |url=http://googlecode.blogspot.com/2007/07/drum-roll-winners-of-2007-google.html |title=Google Code Blog: Drum Roll... The winners of the 2007 Google-O'Reilly Open Source Awards are |date=25 July 2007 |access-date=2010-12-14 |archive-date=2010-07-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100713232449/http://googlecode.blogspot.com/2007/07/drum-roll-winners-of-2007-google.html |url-status=live }}
• 2005 – Best News Site – ConsortiumInfo*.org – Pamela Jones/Groklaw: Best Community Site or Blog (Non-Profit)
• 2005 – Best Blogger of the Year – Dana Blankenhorn, Corante[http://mooreslore.corante.com/archives/2005/04/18/blogger_of_the_year.php Blogger of the Year. Moore's Lore:] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070814085842/http://mooreslore.corante.com/archives/2005/04/18/blogger_of_the_year.php |date=2007-08-14 }}
• 2004 – Best Website of 2004 – The Inquirer[https://web.archive.org/web/20080507081838/http://www.theinquirer.net/en/inquirer/news/2004/12/08/inq-presents-gongs-of-the-year INQ presents gongs of the year – The INQUIRER]
• 2004 – Best Independent Tech Blog – TechWeb Network: Readers Choice Award{{citation needed|date=December 2018}}
• 2004 – Best Nontechnical or Community Website – Linux Journal: Editors' Choice Award{{citation needed|date=December 2018}}
• 2003 – Best News Site – OSDir.com: Editor's Choice Winner{{citation needed|date=December 2018}}

Groklaw was the personal creation of Jones, and it published both news and opinion articles from a self-described pro-FOSS, anti-FUD perspective.{{Cite web |url=http://www.groklaw.net/staticpages/index.php?page=20040923045054130 |title=Groklaw Mission statement |access-date=2007-08-16 |archive-date=2010-05-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100505112949/http://www.groklaw.net/staticpages/index.php?page=20040923045054130 |url-status=live }}

While articles meticulously followed SCO's litigation activities, they were accompanied by reader-submitted comments that were "overwhelmingly pro-Linux and anti-SCO."{{cite news|title=SCO losses up, revenues not |author=Bob Mims | newspaper=Salt Lake Tribune| date=2005-04-14}}

Jones was widely respected by journalists and people inside the Linux community. Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols wrote, "Jones has made her reputation as a top legal IT reporter from her work detailing the defects with SCO's case against IBM and Linux. Indeed, it is no exaggeration to say that her work has contributed enormously to everyone's coverage of SCO's cases."

{{cite web| url=http://practical-tech.com/operating-system/yes-there-is-a-pj/2879/| title=Yes, there is a PJ }}

Despite the high regard of Jones's journalist peers and the Linux community (or, possibly, in part because of it),{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}} a number of prominent attacks against Groklaw and Jones occurred. These attacks were documented and addressed in detail on Groklaw and other web sites, and also in court as part of the SCO litigation {{Citation needed|date=December 2023}}.

For the first two years of Groklaw, Jones worked anonymously, signing her articles only as "PJ". During the first week of May 2005, Linux World published an exposé by Maureen O'Gara claiming to unmask Jones. Two weeks before O'Gara's publication, SCO Group CEO Darl McBride said that SCO was investigating Jones's identity. The article included alleged, but unverified, personal information about Jones,[http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/articles/kircaali_interview Interview with Fuat Kircaali, CEO of Sys-Con] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060829031640/http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/articles/kircaali_interview |date=2006-08-29 }}, Free Software Magazine. [http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20050509145744287 Intimigation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100505072610/http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20050509145744287 |date=2010-05-05 }}, Groklaw. including a photo of Jones's supposed house and purported addresses and telephone numbers for Jones and her mother.{{cite web|title=SCO's Legal Wrangles Take an Odd, Personal Turn |url=http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1814683,00.asp |date=2005-05-11| access-date=2007-11-24}} After a flood of complaints to the publisher, lobbying of the site's advertisers, and claims of a denial-of-service attack launched against the Sys-Con domain,[http://www.braingia.org/webnotes/index.php?title=on_linuxworld_com_dos_again On Sys-Con and LinuxWorld.Com DoS (Again)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930031310/http://www.braingia.org/webnotes/index.php?title=on_linuxworld_com_dos_again |date=2007-09-30 }}, Blog Home For Steve Suehring, 2005-05-14. [http://mooreslore.corante.com/archives/2005/05/12/tragic_end_to_jonesogara_feud.php Tragic End to Jones-O'Gara Feud] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009132513/http://mooreslore.corante.com/archives/2005/05/12/tragic_end_to_jonesogara_feud.php |date=2007-10-09 }} See also Kircaali interview.{{cite magazine| title=Who is Pamela Jones? | author=Daniel Lyons | magazine=Forbes |date=2005-11-14}}, a sidebar to Lyons' "Attack of the Blogs" in the same issue. Linux Business News' publisher Sys-Con issued a public apology,[https://web.archive.org/web/20050516003713/http://www.linuxbusinessnews.com/ To Our Valued Readers], Linux Business News, posted 13 May 2005 (archived 16 May 2005 at the Internet Archive; message appears near top in box with a light yellow background) and said they dropped O'Gara and her LinuxGram column. Despite this assertion, O'Gara remained with Sys-Con; as of 2009, she is the Virtualization News Desk editor at Sys-Con Media, who describe her as "[o]ne of the most respected technology reporters in the business" and has her work published in multiple magazines owned by Sys-Con Media.{{cite web

|url=http://www.sys-con.com/author/2390

|title=Maureen O'Gara @ SYS-CON MEDIA

|work=Official website for Sys-Con Media

|access-date=2008-11-22

}}

McBride and Blake Stowell, corporate communications director at SCO, also denigrated Jones and claimed that she worked for IBM.[http://www.groklaw.net/pdf/IBM-621-E18.pdf Primary court document "Exhibit 18" filed by SCO 2/10/2006] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140422134703/http://www.groklaw.net/pdf/IBM-621-E18.pdf |date=2014-04-22 }}. [http://techupdate.zdnet.com/special_report/Face_to_Face:_Darl_McBride.html Face to Face: McBride outlines SCO's lawsuit strategy] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060510065646/http://techupdate.zdnet.com/special_report/Face_to_Face%3A_Darl_McBride.html |date=2006-05-10 }}, zdnet.com. [http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/32990.html Writing Linux History: Groklaw's Role in the SCO Controversy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060820080816/http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/32990.html |date=2006-08-20 }}, linuxinsider.com. Jones denied this allegation,[https://archive.today/20070811230854/http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-5170485.html?tag=header.newsfeed Letter to the Editor: No IBM-Groklaw connection], zdnews.com. [http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20040305174627767 PJ Responds to the Smear Campaign Against Groklaw] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100505094320/http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20040305174627767 |date=2010-05-05 }}, Groklaw. as did IBM in a court filing.{{Cite web |url=http://www.groklaw.net/pdf/IBM-621-E19.pdf |title=Primary court document "Exhibit 19" filed by IBM 2/10/2006 |access-date=2006-09-17 |archive-date=2015-09-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924041006/http://www.groklaw.net/pdf/IBM-621-E19.pdf |url-status=live }} During an SCO conference call on April 13, 2005, McBride said, "The reality is the web site is full of misinformation, including the people who are actually running it" when talking about Groklaw, adding also "What I would say is that it is not what it is purported to be". Later developments in the court cases showed that McBride's statements to the press regarding the SCO litigation had limited credibility; very few such statements were ever substantiated and most were shown to be false. For example, McBride claimed that SCO owned the copyrights to UNIX, and SCO filed suit to try to enforce these claims.{{cite web|title=Novell claims it, not SCO, owns Unix copyrights|url=http://www.geek.com/news/novell-claims-it-not-sco-owns-unix-copyrights-553557/|access-date=2013-05-03|archive-date=2014-11-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129130816/http://www.geek.com/news/novell-claims-it-not-sco-owns-unix-copyrights-553557/|url-status=dead}} The outcome went against McBride's claims. The jury found that SCO had not purchased these copyrights.{{cite web|title=SCO loses again: jury says Novell owns UNIX SVRX copyrights|date=30 March 2010 |url=https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2010/03/sco-loses-again-jury-says-novell-owns-unix-svrx-copyrights/}}{{cite web|title=Jury Verdict, PDF of court document|url=http://www.groklaw.net/pdf2/Novell-846.pdf}}

SCO appealed this ruling and lost.{{cite web|title=10th Circuit Affirms in All Respects – Novell, Not SCO, Owns the Copyrights, etc.|url=http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20110830170454743}} McBride also made a claim to the press that there was a "mountain of code" misappropriated to create Linux.{{cite web|title=SCO puts disputed code in the spotlight |url=http://marketwatch-cnet.com.com/2100-1016_3-5065286.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130628224139/http://marketwatch-cnet.com.com/2100-1016_3-5065286.html |archive-date=2013-06-28 |url-status=dead }} When SCO finally presented their evidence of infringement, which centered on nine lines of error name and number similarities in the file errno.h, Judge Wells famously said "Is this all you've got?"{{cite web|title=First Report from the Hearing – Updated 4Xs – Wells to SCO: "Is This All You've Got?"|url=http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20060414162430240}} Professor Randall Davis of MIT later made a convincing demonstration that no elements of UNIX which might be copyright-protectable were present in the Linux source code.{{cite web|title=Dr. Randall Davis's 2nd Declaration – I Found No Identical or Similar Code|url=http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20040917083356327}}

Anticipating further legal threats against GNU, Linux, and the free software community, Jones launched Grokline, a Unix ownership timeline project, in May 2004.[http://www.grokline.net Grokline.net home page] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071024191134/http://www.grokline.net/ |date=2007-10-24 }} One notable result of the Groklaw/Grokline effort was obtaining and publishing the 1994 settlement in USL v. BSDi, which for over a decade had been sealed by the parties.[http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20041126130302760 The 1994 USL-Regents of UCal Settlement Agreement] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100505081744/http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20041126130302760 |date=2010-05-05 }}, Groklaw, 28 Nov 2004 The document was obtained through a California freedom of information statute (the University of California, as a publicly funded institution, is required by law to make almost all of its documents public), and the release of the settlement answered many questions as to the ownership of the Unix intellectual property.

The Linux documentation project Grokdoc wiki was started in 2004 with the stated goal "to create a useful manual on basic tasks that new users will find simple and clear and easy to follow."[http://www.grokdoc.net/index.php/Main_Page Grokdoc Main Page] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070824192826/http://www.grokdoc.net/index.php/Main_Page |date=2007-08-24 }}

Groklaw extensively covered patent problems with software and hardware and the use of the DMCA against free software ideals, Open standards, digital rights management, GPLv3, and published The Daemon, the GNU & the Penguin,Peter H. Salus, The Daemon, the GNU & The Penguin (Reed Media Services, September 1, 2008; {{ISBN|978-0-9790342-3-7}}) a series of articles by Peter Salus covering the history of Unix, Linux and the GNU project.

It covered the Oracle v. Google lawsuit in which Oracle alleged that Google's Android platform infringed copyrights and patents related to Java.{{cite web | url=http://www.groklaw.net/staticpages/index.php?page=OracleGoogle | title=Oracle America, Inc. v. Google, Inc. | website=Groklaw | access-date=May 28, 2012}}

In January 2009, Groklaw entered a second phase, focusing on consolidation and cleanup of the legal history collected on the site.

In April 2010, Groklaw was selected by the Library of Congress for its web archival project, in the category of Legal Blogs.http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20100406141939511 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100505010321/http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20100406141939511 |date=2010-05-05 }} Groklaw article

On April 9, 2011, Jones announced that Groklaw would stop publishing new articles on May 16, 2011, its 8th anniversary, as it had accomplished its original mission of revealing the truth behind the SCO lawsuits.{{cite web|url=http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20110409161444432|title=Groklaw Articles Ending on May 16th|date=April 9, 2011|access-date=April 9, 2011|website=Groklaw}}

On May 16, 2011, Jones reaffirmed her desire to step down from writing daily articles and announced that the new editor would be Mark Webbink.{{cite web|url=http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20110515173831922|title=As of Today, It's Mark Webbink's Groklaw 2.0|date=May 16, 2011|access-date=May 16, 2011|website=Groklaw}}

Subsequent to this decision, new patent and copyright based attacks on the Android operating system led to Jones resuming an editorial role, and along with Mark Webbink she moderated and edited the site.

On August 20, 2013, a final article appeared on Groklaw, explaining that due to pervasive government monitoring of the Internet, there could no longer be an expectation of the sort of privacy online that was necessary to collaborate on sensitive topics. Citing the closure of Lavabit earlier that month, Jones wrote "I can't do Groklaw without your input.... and there is now no private way, evidently, to collaborate." and "What I do know is it's not possible to be fully human if you are being surveilled 24/7... I hope that makes it clear why I can't continue. There is now no shield from forced exposure."{{cite web|url=http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20130818120421175|title=Forced Exposure|date=August 20, 2013|access-date=August 20, 2013|website=Groklaw}}

During 2020, the site was intermittently unavailable.{{cite web |url=http://www.groklaw.net/ |title=Wayback Machine capture chart of www.groklaw.net for 2020 |access-date=September 15, 2022 |website= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031012122712/http://www.groklaw.net/ |archive-date=12 October 2003 |url-status=dead}} {{asof|2022}}, the home page and parts of the content were still available. As of October 2024, although the domain name is still registered, the landing page displays a GoDaddy domain-parking page.

• SCO-Linux controversies
• Weblog
• Darl McBride
• Ralph Yarro III
• Canopy Group
• Software patents and free software

{{Reflist|30em}}

• [http://radio-weblogs.com/0120124/ Groklaw{{'}}s Defunct Radio UserLand Page]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20071024191134/http://www.grokline.net/ Grokline]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080705163814/http://grokdoc.net/ Grokdoc]
• Michael J. Jordan (July 31, 2003). [https://web.archive.org/web/20070216055920/http://www.linux.org/people/pj_groklaw.html Interview with Pamela Jones] Linux Online.
• Richard Hillesley (November 26, 2007). [https://web.archive.org/web/20071213021705/http://www.itpro.co.uk/features/141573/qa-pamela-jones-of-groklaw.html Q&A: Pamela Jones] IT Pro.
• Brenda Sandburg (September 9, 2005). [http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1126170313067 Lawyers Flock to Mystery Web Site's Coverage of SCO v. IBM Suit] Law.Com
• Groklaw (2003) [http://www.groklaw.net/staticpages/index.php?page=20030923112622826 Open letter to SCO] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130828122713/http://www.groklaw.net/staticpages/index.php?page=20030923112622826 |date=2013-08-28 }} from Members of The Open Source/Free Software Community at Groklaw
• [http://www.groklaw.net/staticpages/index.php?page=20030929022014462 An accompanying research document for the Open Letter]

Category:Works about computer law

Category:Creative Commons-licensed websites

Category:Free software websites

Category:American legal websites

Category:SCO–Linux disputes

Category:Works about intellectual property law

Category:Law blogs

Category:Internet properties established in 2003

Category:Internet properties disestablished in 2013