MySQL AB Celebrates European Parliament's Decision Against Software Patents

Uppsala, Sweden & Cupertino, Calif. -- MySQL AB, Europe's largest open source software company, today acknowledged a major victory for the software development community after the EU Parliament overwhelmingly rejected legislation that would have allowed patents on software. The final vote was 648-32.

"We applaud the European Parliament for eliminating the threat of a directive that would have hampered growth and stifled innovation," said Marten Mickos, CEO of MySQL AB. "This is a major defensive victory for those who fought for the freedom of the market. While the proposed directive would have been negative for all software developers, the decision reflects in part the growing relevance of open source software to politicians."

Founded in Sweden ten years ago, MySQL AB and its founders, Michael "Monty" Widenius and David Axmark, took an early leadership position among European technology vendors in the high-profile debate against software patents. The company helped sponsor Florian Mueller's successful nosoftwarepatents.com campaign -- along with Red Hat, 1&1 and others.

"MySQL AB has been a major contributor to the fight against a directive that would have legalized software patents in Europe," said Hartmut Pilch, president of the Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure (FFII). "Thousands of companies deserve credit for their support, but among medium-sized companies, MySQL AB has probably been more committed than almost any other company. By spending significant time and money, they have set an example that will hopefully motivate others in the future to take serious action."

About MySQL

MySQL AB develops and supports a family of high performance, affordable database products -- including MySQL Network, a comprehensive set of certified software and premium support services. The company's flagship product is MySQL, the world's most popular open source database, with more than six million active installations. Many of the world's largest organizations, including Yahoo!, Sabre Holdings, The Associated Press, Suzuki and NASA are realizing significant cost savings by using MySQL to power high-volume Web sites, business-critical enterprise applications and packaged software.

With headquarters in Sweden and the United States - and operations around the world - MySQL AB supports both open source values and corporate customers' needs in a profitable, sustainable business. For more information about MySQL, please visit www.mysql.com.

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