Lindon company appealing verdict in favor of Novell in Unix battle

SALT LAKE CITY — A company is appealing a March jury verdict in favor of Novell Inc. in an ownership battle over Unix computer server operating systems.

Lindon-based The SCO Group said in a court filing this week it is appealing the verdict to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver.

A jury found in favor of Waltham, Mass.-based Novell in March after a three-week trial in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City.

The jury ruled that Novell owns copyrights to Unix, even though it sold licensing rights for the technology in 1995 to The SCO Group.

SCO Group had claimed it bought the copyrights along with the Unix license, and it sued Novell for "slander of title" when Novell denied it.