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IBM has agreed to drop its patent infringement countersuit against SCO, an action that should help move the case along toward a resolution.

It looks like IBM senses victory in its legal battle with SCO. SCO had claimed that Linux infringed upon patents it held, and sued IBM. IBM countersued with several accusations of patent infringement and other issues.

IBM has dropped the patent claims, but still has eight counterclaims in place against SCO, IDG News reports. The trial still won't happen anytime soon; it has been scheduled for February 2007.

In its motion to drop the patent infringement claims, IBM noted that it still thinks SCO infringed on its patents, but is dropping these claims to help speed up the case. Each claim of infringement required a certain period of discovery, and that was causing an already slow court case to move even slower.

Groklaw contends that IBM does not need the patent infringement claims in order to beat SCO in court. "Here's a simple rule of litigation. You never, ever offer to drop anything you think you'll need for victory or to make yourself whole," Groklaw's Pamela Jones posted about the move.

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David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. Email him here.