On Tue, Oct 11, 2005 at 06:52:16PM -0400, Bruce Momjian wrote:
> We can't do much, actually. The trademark thing can be secured, but
> other than that, I see no other defenses we could use. We can't prevent
> people from being hired, and we can't guard against patent attacks.
Actually, I think there's things that can be done in both cases. For
patents, we need to ensure that we're not using technology that's
covered by patents. But even so, this is really more of an issue for
commercial entities using PostgreSQL. There's not very much Oracle could
go after in the community.
As for developers, the way that can be defended against is by keeping
the developers in demand at companies that are commercializing
PostgreSQL. The way that's done is by supporting those companies so that
they're PostgreSQL operations are profitable and they have the desire to
keep their talent around. Granted, Oracle has more money laying around
than probably all current commercial ventures combined, but I would
venture to guess that most people in the community would be very
hesitant to even consider a job at Oracle.
As an ironic aside, I actually turned down a job at Oracle about 18
months ago. Before anyone worries though, it was offered by a friend and
PostgreSQL wasn't an issue at all.
--
Jim C. Nasby, Sr. Engineering Consultant jnasby@pervasive.com
Pervasive Software http://pervasive.com work: 512-231-6117
vcard: http://jim.nasby.net/pervasive.vcf cell: 512-569-9461