[Fwd: [Patents] MS Office 2003 XML patented]

From: Rui Miguel Seabra (rms_at_1407.org)
Date: Mon Nov 17 2003 - 10:23:50 EST

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    -----Forwarded Message-----
    From: Carsten Svaneborg <zqex_at_mpipks-dresden.mpg.de>
    To: patents_at_aful.org
    Subject: [Patents] MS Office 2003 XML patented
    Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 13:48:11 +0100

    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 ยง7 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. 

    -- 
+ No matter how much you do, you never do enough -- unknown
+ Whatever you do will be insignificant,
| but it is very important that you do it -- Gandhi
+ So let's do it...?

    Please AVOID sending me WORD, EXCEL or POWERPOINT attachments.
See http://www.fsf.org/philosophy/no-word-attachments.html

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