Re: How can we submit code patches that implement our (pending) patents?

On 9 July 2018 at 15:51, Tsunakawa, Takayuki <tsunakawa(dot)takay(at)jp(dot)fujitsu(dot)com
> wrote:

> From: davecramer(at)gmail(dot)com [mailto:davecramer(at)gmail(dot)com] On Behalf Of
> > Dave Cramer
> > Certainly there is history of people using PG code for non-PostgreSQL or
> > at least commercial derivative work. Greenplum for example.
>
> Yes, we would be glad if companies in the PostgreSQL community, including
> Greenplum, could utilize our patents and prosper with no charge. We just
> want to use our (future) patents to make PostgreSQL a more wonderful DBMS,
> and to protect PostgreSQL against patent lawsuits by companies outside
> PostgreSQL community.

I can't speak for my employer, but to me it seems like a broad patent grant
that follows the code and derivatives would be reasonable.

A grant just for "PostgreSQL", not so much.

I'm not sure how much practical protection/benefit that'd offer unless it
came with a retaliation clause, though, and how it'd differ from an
unrestricted grant of rights for everyone. I mentioned that earlier. If you
can take a few snippets of PostgreSQL code and add them to your product to
inherit the patent grant, then in practice the patent grant is universal,
not specific to PostgreSQL and derivatives. But if you start requiring
"substantial" derivatives, etc, it gets messy and complicated.

I'm not sure how grants with retaliation clauses would be received by
others here. I lack the expertise to have much of an opinion myself. Is
that what you propose?

--
Craig Ringer http://www.2ndQuadrant.com/
PostgreSQL Development, 24x7 Support, Training & Services