[zeveb]

> This observation applies to database engines generally. It is straightforward to explain: almost everyone with deep expertise in sophisticated database engine internals are contractually prohibited from disclosing anything about the design of such things. It is an industry steeped in trade secrets. Sophisticated database engines are littered with novel algorithms and designs that have never been published. Because basic performance superiority is a key market differentiator, database companies have invested heavily in computer science R&D for decades to get an edge they are loath to share. Sadly, academia is increasingly in the role of independently re-discovering what has been known for 10-20 years but treated as a secret.

This makes an interesting case for software patents: what if database companies patented those insights instead of keeping them secret, and thus could keep others from using them for, say, 3-4 years? At the end of that time anyone could use those techniques.

This seems to me better than either trade secrets are the current absurdly-long patent lifetimes.