Re: [Patents] MS Office 2003 XML patented

[Bernard Lang <Bernard.Lang@inria.fr>]

do you have a coppy of that page ...

it does not seem to exist any longer.

Bernard


On Mon, Nov 17, 2003 at 01:48:11PM +0100, Carsten Svaneborg wrote:
> 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
> 
> 

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