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After rounds of verbal jousting between Oracle and the European Commission over the software giant’s nine-month effort to acquire Sun Microsystems and its hotly-contested MySQL open source database system, a treaty of sorts appears to be in the works.
On Dec. 14, Oracle made a set of public commitments to further invest in and enhance the General Public License (GPL) and commercial versions of MySQL. Those commitments include:
-Continued availability of Storage Engine APIs.
-A pledge to continue to offer those storage vendors with existing commercial MySQL licenses with Sun an extension of their agreements under the same terms and conditions for a term not to exceed Dec. 10, 2014.
-A guarantee to enhance MySQL in the future under the GPL. This includes plans to make subsequent versions of MySQL, including Version 6, available under the GPL.
-Oracle’s willingness to waive any requirements for customers to purchase support services from it as a condition to obtaining a commercial license for MySQL.
-Plans to increase spending on MySQL research and development, both for GPL and the commercial version. During each of the next three years, Oracle said it would spend more on R&D than Sun has ($24 million) in its past fiscal year. That works out to more than $72 million over the next three years if the deal is approved.
-A promise to create and fund a MySQL customer advisory board no later than six months after the closing of the Sun deal, if approved. This advisory board, as well as a storage engine vendor advisory board that Oracle has committed to creating, will provide ‘guidance and feedback on MySQL development priorities.’
In a response statement released the same day, the EC said “Oracle’s binding contractual undertakings to storage engine vendors…are significant new facts.” The EC reiterated comments made by EC Commissioner of Competition Neelie Kroes on Dec. 9 that she’s “optimistic that the case will have a satisfactory outcome, while ensuring that the transaction will not have an adverse impact on the effective competition in the European database market.”
Whether Oracle’s public commitments are legally binding is another matter. But on the whole, these are some pretty significant assurances being made by Oracle and they should be enough to quell anti-competition concerns among EC officials.
Some pundits such as software industry veteran Florian Muller, quoted by The New York Times, have questioned whether Oracle plans to develop MySQL “in a meaningful way that responds to market needs.” It’s a reasonable concern and one that will ultimately become a matter of interpretation assuming the EC green lights the deal and Oracle moves forward with its MySQL R&D plans.
Some legal experts have pointed out that Kroes’ statements aren’t guarantees that the EC will clear the deal. But on the surface, anyway, it looks as if both Oracle and the EC are playing ball. This includes Oracle’s critical commitment to extending MySQL licensing agreements with other vendors for another five years.
The EC has until Jan. 27 to make a decision. The U.S. Department of Justice has already cleared the deal.
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