Re:well, now that we know (Score 5, Insightful)

At this point, it doesn't matter if there's any UNIX code in Linux. The _whole_ thing could be UNIX and Novell (or anyone else) still couldn't sue any Linux vendor for IP violations. The reason is because Novell (the legal owner of the UNIX copyrights) has been *actively* distributing _all_the_code_ (whether UNIX or Linux) under GPL as part of SLED/SLES for at least a few years now. You can't put code under GPL and then forbid your competitors (Red Hat, Ubuntu,etc) from Freely modifying and redistributing.

Any (if any) UNIX code that is in Linux is effectively Free software now. If Novell owns it, and they've been distributing it under GPL, it's Free. They can't sue anyone. Linux vendors are completely and utterly safe now.