http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/53/29419.html

SQL Server developers face huge royalty bills. How many, how much?

A Washington court ruling could see SQL Server developers liable for millions of dollars in licensing fees.

The judgment concerns a contract dispute between Timeline Inc. and Microsoft, over three patents relating to datamarts. In Microsoft's interpretration of its licence with Timeline, published in a press release in July 1999, "all users of Microsoft SQL Server 7, Office 2000 and other Microsoft products that utilize this type of technology are unencumbered by Timeline's patents."