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I had forgotten they also owned BerkeleyDB (obviously I know that Oracle own Sun, is that why I'm getting downmodded?).

But my point still stands: makers of replacement engines for MySQL could be in violation of MySQL-related patents, which Oracle could then sue over.

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They could, but they haven't, and probably won't. Oracle had a big database-related portfolio long before they acquired Sun/MySQL, which had relatively few. They even bought Innobase, makers of the InnoDB engine a few years ago.

Other database vendors (Percona et al., not IBM) don't have assets for Oracle to take, don't directly threaten their core business, and going after them would get Oracle in trouble with regulators.

Better to land a tuna than chase sardines around.

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