undefined | Better HN

0 pointsjmalicki5y ago0 comments

I would love to see IBM try to sue Oracle for the entirety of its history of database revenues over its use of their SQL API...

0 comments

7 comments · 2 top-level

Jtsummers5y ago· 5 in thread

SQL is an ISO standard. IBM would only have grounds if any part of Oracle's implementation implemented a proprietary portion of an IBM database implementation. This is the positive thing about standards, it removes ambiguity around what people can/should implement and present to users of the systems.

jmalickiOP5y ago

The IBM implementation of SQL far predates the ISO standard. Does something being standardized somehow relinquish the copyright? The idea of APIs being copyrightable is new, has IBM somehow relinquished its copyright claims for SQL to ISO? This article discusses the possibility at length https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/03/before-it-sued-g...

rusk5y ago

I think you have to have demonstrated that you have taken steps to protect your copyright. I’d imagine submitting to a standard would relinquish that. Patents on the other hand ...

2 more replies

jolux5y ago

Yeah but what did Oracle copy here? They made the language compatible, but did they copy the API too? Cleanrooms have been a thing for a long time.

jmalickiOP5y ago

Also note that even for established patents, a ton of standards standardized patented technology, and implementing the standard requires a patent license! This is a huge part of how Qualcomm makes its patent revenue from 3G/4G implementors.

rocqua5y ago

From what I heard, a large part of the politics in 3GPP standardization are about big companies wanting the prescribed methods to use their patents.

sangnoir5y ago

I would like to see Amazon sue Oracle for their S3-compatible API for Oracle cloud.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 comments

7 comments · 2 top-level

Jtsummers5y ago· 5 in thread

SQL is an ISO standard. IBM would only have grounds if any part of Oracle's implementation implemented a proprietary portion of an IBM database implementation. This is the positive thing about standards, it removes ambiguity around what people can/should implement and present to users of the systems.

jmalickiOP5y ago

The IBM implementation of SQL far predates the ISO standard. Does something being standardized somehow relinquish the copyright? The idea of APIs being copyrightable is new, has IBM somehow relinquished its copyright claims for SQL to ISO? This article discusses the possibility at length https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/03/before-it-sued-g...

rusk5y ago

I think you have to have demonstrated that you have taken steps to protect your copyright. I’d imagine submitting to a standard would relinquish that. Patents on the other hand ...

2 more replies

jolux5y ago

Yeah but what did Oracle copy here? They made the language compatible, but did they copy the API too? Cleanrooms have been a thing for a long time.

jmalickiOP5y ago

Also note that even for established patents, a ton of standards standardized patented technology, and implementing the standard requires a patent license! This is a huge part of how Qualcomm makes its patent revenue from 3G/4G implementors.

rocqua5y ago

From what I heard, a large part of the politics in 3GPP standardization are about big companies wanting the prescribed methods to use their patents.

sangnoir5y ago

I would like to see Amazon sue Oracle for their S3-compatible API for Oracle cloud.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse