Editing Unix System Laboratories (section)

== Legacy ==
The acquisition of USL never really worked out for Novell,<ref name="crn-news"/> and was followed by Novell's misguided acquisitions of [[WordPerfect]] and [[Quattro Pro]] in another attempt to compete head-to-head with Microsoft.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/02/01/business/novell-to-sell-wordperfect-for-115-million.html | title=Novell to Sell Wordperfect for $115 Million | first=Lawrence M. | last=Fisher | newspaper=The New York Times | date=February 1, 1996 | access-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-date=June 22, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190622100621/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/02/01/business/novell-to-sell-wordperfect-for-115-million.html | url-status=live }}</ref>  In particular, the "SuperNOS" project never achieved fruition.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.deseret.com/2004/3/29/19819824/novell-regaining-prior-glory | title=Novell regaining prior glory | author-first=David L. | author-last=Politis | newspaper=Deseret News | date=March 29, 2004 | access-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210328062616/https://www.deseret.com/2004/3/29/19819824/novell-regaining-prior-glory | url-status=live }}</ref>

Novell announced the sale of Unix to the [[Santa Cruz Operation]], coincident with a licensing arrangement with [[Hewlett-Packard]], in September 1995.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5w4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA134 | title=UnixWare survives through sale, licensing deal | magazine=Network World | date=September 25, 1995 | page=134 | access-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210328062605/https://books.google.com/books?id=5w4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA134 | url-status=live }}</ref>  Following another change of ownership, the renamed [[The SCO Group]] and the Unix System V source base became elements of the [[SCO–Linux disputes]].<ref name="crn-news"/>  After The SCO Group went bankrupt, the SCO products using the Unix System V source base were purchased by UnXis, later renamed to [[Xinuos]].<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.osfiles.com/os_unix/ospg_Unix_unixware.htm | title=UnixWare | publisher=The OS Files | access-date=January 8, 2021 | archive-date=January 10, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110235721/http://www.osfiles.com/os_unix/ospg_Unix_unixware.htm | url-status=live }}</ref>

Although it never took off within the industry, C++ Standard Components remained in the development kits for Novell UnixWare, later SCO UnixWare, into the 2000s.<ref name="udk-sc">{{cite web | url=http://osr600doc.sco.com/en/SDK_c++/_C_Standard_Components.html | title=C++ Standard Components | publisher=The SCO Group | date=June 2, 2005 | access-date=December 1, 2017 | archive-date=September 10, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180910205617/http://osr600doc.sco.com/en/SDK_c++/_C_Standard_Components.html | url-status=live }} See also [http://osr600doc.sco.com/en/SDK_c++/_Relationship_to_the_C_Standard_.html "Relationship to the C++ Standard Library"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125141411/http://osr600doc.sco.com/en/SDK_c++/_Relationship_to_the_C_Standard_.html |date=November 25, 2020 }} at the same site.</ref>  Tuxedo was acquired by [[BEA Systems]] in the 1990s, and then upon that firm being acquired became part of [[Oracle Fusion Middleware]].<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/tuxedo/overview/index.html | title=Oracle Tuxedo | publisher=Oracle | access-date=May 5, 2018 | archive-date=May 5, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180505210553/http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/tuxedo/overview/index.html | url-status=live }}</ref>

Novell was acquired by [[The Attachmate Group]] in 2011. The Attachmate Group was acquired by [[Micro Focus]] in 2014. Micro Focus was later acquired by [[OpenText]] in 2023.

In the view of writer Christopher Negus, 
"The UNIX Laboratory was considered a jewel that couldn't quite find a home or a way to make a profit. As it moved between Bell Laboratories and other areas of AT&T, its name changed several times. It is probably best remembered by the name it had as it began its spin-off from AT&T: UNIX System Laboratories (USL)."<ref name="negus">{{cite book <!-- | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1D9WpeD5B_UC&pg=PA12 --> <!-- https://books.google.com/books?id=2BsFCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA10 --> | title=Linux Bible: The Comprehensive, Tutorial Resource | first=Christopher | last=Negus | publisher=John Wiley & Sons | location=Indianapolis | date= 2015 | edition=Ninth | pages=10–11}}</ref>
However Negus believes that in three crucial respects USL's actions – in continuing to release a source code product to its partners, in working to define industry standards such as POSIX, and in making decisions on the direction of Unix based on technical merit not corporate advantage – paved the way for the rise of a Unix-like entity such as the Linux operating system, and that this beneficial historical role has been obscured by the SCO–Linux controversies.<ref name="negus"/>