"...only actual asset they got was the domain name mysql.com" Not true. Apart from the domain, they also got the MySql brand name. More importantly though than

"...only actual asset they got was the domain name mysql.com" Not true. Apart from the domain, they also got the MySql brand name. More importantly though than that they got the ability to sell MySql licenses. But wait you say, MySql is free... Well, yes and no. It's free for a limited subset of cases, for the rest you need a license. Now the code can be forked forever, but only Sun (now Oracle) can sell commercial licenses. MySql is a big deal for Oracle because they are effectively the only ones that can change the licensing conditions for MySql. All MySql forks have to be licensed under the GPL.