Marten Mickos
CEO of MySQL AB
MySQL
Software patents are not a good way to protect intellectual property

MySQL AB has full respect for Intellectual Property (IP) rights in software and all related laws and regulations. In fact, our business model is based on copyright, and the fact that we own or license the software we sell and support.<br/><br/>We do not think that software patents are a useful way to protect software IP. Instead, we believe that copyright protection is sufficient. We have concluded that software patents are harmful to the software industry at large. This is why we support those who work for an abolishment of software patents. We also work with other companies and groups to build a joint defense against software patents.<br/><br/>We would like to point out that:<ul><li>patent-related risks and opportunities have different profiles in different industries;</li><li>software patents are, relative to overall R&amp;D expenditures, much more expensive to obtain than patents in such fields as life sciences or traditional engineering;</li><li>returns on investment are adversely affected by obligations to pay patent royalties to non-producing entities ("patent trolls") as well as to some large corporations that systematically collect "patent taxes" (fees for licenses to their entire patent portfolios);</li><li>software patents may reduce the risk of some investments, but they increase the risk of many others;</li><li>the decision whether to invest in a software company is subject to a wide variety of criteria, and unlike in such a field as life sciences, the most successful investments in software companies cannot be attributed to the ownership of patents;</li><li>copyright (as opposed to patent protection) is a proven mechanism for protecting the intellectual property of software, and it has served software entrepreneurs and investors very well;</li><li>software patents raise the entrance barrier to the market, and that way can discourage investors and entrepreneurs from the pursuit of certain opportunities;</li><li>open-source business models are increasingly attractive to venture investors worldwide, and particularly an opportunity for the old and the new member states of the European Union, which would however be adversely affected by a software patent regime.</li></ul> More on our position on software patents an be found in our <a href="http://www.mysql.com/company/legal/patents.html">MySQL Patent position</a> and <a href="http://www.mysql.com/company/legal/patent_declaration.html">MySQL Patent Declaration</a>.
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