MS Office 2003 XML patented

(Forwarded from Patents list)

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [Patents] MS Office 2003 XML patented
Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 13:48:11 +0100
From: Carsten Svaneborg <[email protected]>
Organization: www.mpipks-dresden.mpg.de
To: patents-E9G6n+K/[email protected]

Hi! Just came across the following:

http://www.microsoft.com/mscorp/ip/format/xmlpatentlicense.asp
Office 2003 XML Reference Schema Patent License

Microsoft may have patents and/or patent applications that are necessary for
you to license in order to make, sell, or distribute software programs that
read or write files that comply with the Microsoft specifications for the
Office Schemas.

So usage of MS Word XML files requires a patentlicense.

:

You are not licensed to distribute a Licensed Implementation under license
terms and conditions that prohibit the terms and conditions of this
license.  You are not licensed to sublicense or transfer your rights.

The licence is royalty free, but GPL §7 requires the right to sublicence
patent rights to the people who obtain a GPL program from you.

so in other words Microsoft is using patents to prevent GPLed programs from
accessing the XML format that MS Word will be using.

This is very good timing, and goes to show how important it is to ensure
that the software patent directive has articles that protects
interoperativity from consituting patentinfringemet.

-- 
  Mvh. Carsten Svaneborg
http://www.softwarepatenter.dk