Oracle should free MySQL -software group

By Tarmo Virki
23 October 2009 @ 12:06 pm EDT

Oracle should remove the key stumbling block to approval of its Sun acquisition by giving Sun's database MySQL to an independent, non-profit foundation, a free software group said on Friday.

A Sun Microsystems sign is pictured at the company's headquarters in Santa Clara, California in this March 18, 2009 file photo. Oracle Corp plans to enter the computer hardware market by buying Sun Microsystems Inc for more than $7 billion, swooping in after Sun's talks with IBM fell apart. The announcement on April 20, 2009 surprised many Oracle watchers, who believed the company can boost profitability at Sun's software businesses but were unsu...

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The European Union told Oracle earlier this week that it has failed to ease competition concerns over its $7 billion acquisition.

The foundation would preserve MySQL as free software and foster its development, while no proprietary competitor will be able to use MySQL to threaten Oracle's business, Free Software Foundation Europe said.

Oracle wants a quick resolution because it says that Sun, the fourth-biggest maker of computer servers, is losing $100 million a month as rivals like Hewlett-Packard Co and IBM poach customers amid uncertainty about the closing of the deal.

MySQL, which competes with Oracle, is used to run websites operated by companies including Google Inc, Facebook and Amazon.com Inc.

(Reporting by Tarmo Virki; Editing by David Cowell)

Oracle should free MySQL -software group

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