At 11:37 PM 1/31/01 +1100, Helen Borrie wrote:

>At 11:25 PM 31-01-01 +1100, you wrote:
>>Just thought some here might be interested in this.
>>
>>http://www.bountyquest.com/winner/winner4.htm
>>
>>Cheers
>>Adam Clarke
>
>
>So - Oracle stole Jim's invention 7 years after he published the rdb/vms
>book - and filed the patent. Very cute. Go get Larry for dinner, Wolf!
>
>Helen

I did Rdb/ELN, not Rdb/VMS (same interface, common networking,
but radically different engines). I believe Rdb/VMS actually
copied stuff -- they certainly didn't keep generations. Whether
or not Rdb/ELN invalidates the patent would require plodding
through a great deal of legalese.

Oracle, incidentally, now owns Rdb/VMS. On the other hand, they
are barred from filing a patent a year after first commercial
use, so the earlier book is most definitely a problem for them.

Jim Starkey