Novell buys UNIX from Bell Labs (1993)
Novell acquired UNIX from Bell Labs, ending AT&T's ownership of the operating system. This changed what 'Unix' meant — it became a trademark and standard rather than a specific codebase.
The Unix trademark passed through several owners before coming under The Open Group's control.
Unix certification became a legal and standards matter, not a question of code lineage.
This is why certification matters — Unix is now a trademark controlled by a standards body, not a specific operating system.
