28
DEC

Helpmysql.org launched: worldwide call to save MySQL from Oracle

Brussels, Belgium, 28 December 2009 -- Oracle's takeover of Sun encounters a formidable challenge on the Internet, two weeks after Oracle claimed to be close to obtaining approval by the European Commission and other regulators. Michael 'Monty' Widenius, MySQL's creator and founder, launched a web campaign, www.helpmysql.org, in (initially) 12 languages, collecting signatures for a worldwide petition against the deal in its present form.

The campaign vows to "keep gathering support until the very end of the process" and says the petition will firstly be delivered on January 4, with subsequent deliveries of signatures received later to take place as well. The petition will be presented to "regulators [including but not limited to the European Commission], other governmental agencies, parliaments and [...] news agencies". The petition text asks "competition authorities around the world to block Oracle's acquisition of Sun" unless one of the solutions that the signatories of the petition can select is put in place. Those possibilities include a divestiture of MySQL to a suitable third party, a so-called "linking exception" and releasing MySQL (all past versions and the ones released over the next three years) under the Apache Software License 2.0, an open source license.

The petition states that Oracle's recent MySQL-related promises "can at best have a transitional effect (if any) but cannot ensure true innovation related to MySQL and safeguard MySQL as a major competitive force." Widenius had previously dismissed them as "empty promises" (http://monty-says.blogspot.com/2009/12/oracle-gives-only-empty-promises-for.html).

The petition expresses the belief that "Oracle, if it acquired Sun's MySQL, would have a fundamental conflict of interests between MySQL (and its different editions and storage engines) on the one hand and Oracle's high-priced products on the other hand." The text also highlights "the fundamental importance of databases to the knowledge-based economy".

Widenius said that the purpose of www.helpmysql.org is to let the MySQL community influence the outcome of the process: "The community that made MySQL popular and strong can now help to keep it free and alive. I thank all MySQL users who have already supported our efforts and are going to support them at such a critical point in time, and I want to thank the many volunteers who helped us pull this campaign off in so little time even during the Holiday Season."

On his blog (http://monty-says.blogspot.com/2009/12/help-keep-internet-free.html), Widenius today published a detailed explanation of his perspective on the merger case, also seeking to clarify his personal motivation to lead this fight. Two weeks ago, Widenius already called on the MySQL community to send emails to the European Commission. The petition also asks those who already wrote to the EC to participate again, as the petition "will be presented in different parts of the world and generally have an effect that goes beyond direct messages to any particular regulator."

The www.helpmysql.org campaign is initially available in English, Chinese, Russian, French, German, Spanish, Dutch, Romanian, Hungarian, Swedish, Latvian and Estonian. According to Florian Mueller, who cooperates closely with Widenius on this matter and has previously gathered massive support from the open source movement in connection with an EU decision (on software patents), the online petition is "a truly global effort", but he declined to specify which particular regulators outside the EU would also receive it "since regulators in some other places wouldn't like us to talk about such activities in public." Within the EU, the petition will also be sent to the 27 national antitrust authorities of the bloc's member countries, which will meet in Brussels in mid January to discuss the Oracle/Sun merger case.

Mueller said that "translations to several more languages will be added shortly to the campaign site", including translations to Japanese, Portuguese, Italian, Polish and Greek.

About Michael 'Monty' Widenius and Monty Program Ab

Michael 'Monty' Widenius is the creator of MySQL, the world's most popular open source database. He started to develop it in 1982. In 2001, he founded MySQL AB, which was acquired by Sun Microsystems in 2008 for a total consideration of approximately US$1 billion. The European Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (EVCA) named this transaction the "European Venture Capital Deal of the Year 2008". On a previous occasion, Widenius had been named the Finnish Software Entrepreneur of the Year 2003.

In 2009, Widenius left Sun and created a new company, Monty Program Ab, based in Tuusula (Helsinki area), Finland. Monty Program Ab develops MariaDB, a branch of MySQL, and the Maria database storage engine and other MySQL-related technologies. The company is a founding member of the Open Database Alliance.

Monty Program Ab corporate website: http://askmonty.org
Michael Widenius' blog: http://monty-says.blogspot.com/

About Florian Mueller

Florian Mueller is a software industry veteran with 24 years of experience as well as an award-winning EU policy strategist. Previously founder and CEO of a startup he sold to the Telefónica group, Mueller became in 2001 an adviser to MySQL's then-CEO on corporate strategy and held shares in the company until its sale.

The Economist Group's European Voice named Mueller the EU Campaigner of the Year 2005. Mueller was also named to thought leader rankings in intellectual property as well as information technology. He has also successfully worked on EU competition matters in connection with professional soccer.