Oracle hit with patent lawsuit over WebLogic Server

Using the open-source Java programming language, Thought created a "middleware mapping layer for saving object and table information and greatly simplified the task of persisting data," according to its complaint, which was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Oracle gained control of Java through the acquisition of Sun Microsystems.

Thought incorporated the technology into its CocoBase product, which was released in 1997 and since has been "licensed widely to numerous customers and partners over the years," the complaint adds.

Between October 1997 and February 2004, 28 requests for an evaluation version of CocoBase were received from email addresses connected with Oracle domain names, the complaint states. From September 1997 to June 2003, Thought also received 118 evaluation copy requests from email addresses with domain names associated with Sun Microsystems, it adds.

On May 2, 2002, Thought founder Ward Mullins emailed Oracle middleware executive Ted Farrell, the complaint states. Mullins "identified certain technologies covered by Thought's current and then-pending patent rights so that Oracle would not 'accidentally violate [Thought's] intellectual property.'"http://nitishsingh34.blogspot.in/