Microsoft forbidden from selling Word, will probably keep selling Word
By Nilay Patel 
posted Aug 12th 2009 11:42AM
posted Aug 12th 2009 11:42AM
Hey, remember that seemingly random patent case from May in which a federal jury awarded a company called i4i Ltd $200 million in patent damages against Microsoft? Things just got worse for Redmond: the judge in the case today issued a permanent injunction against sales of Word 2003, Word 2007, and any future versions of Word that can open .xml, .docx, or .docm files containing "custom XML." Yeah, no kidding -- that's pretty much all of 'em. At issue is i4i's patent on a method for reading XML, and obviously Microsoft's vowed to appeal, so expect this injunction to be stayed pending that appeal in short order -- and also expect Microsoft to eventually either find a way to win or simply pay up, since there's no way it'll let anyone kill Word. We'll see what happens. Word.Update: CNET has a quick interview with i4i Chairman Loudon Owen, who says that he himself uses Word and that i4i isn't trying to "stop Microsoft's business" or "interfere with all the users of Word out there." It's an interesting read, go check it out.
Update: Not that it should come as a surprise to anyone at all, but Microsoft has confirmed that it'll be appealing the decision.
goes into force in 60 days in which time they will have the appeal in... nothing will actually happen.
Microsoft will probably just pay them off... or buy them out.
Microsoft should buy the company itself, liquidate it, and follow it up with high-fives all around.
Probably will cost them less :P
You know what they say, an i4i, a tooth4tooth.
I haven't read the patent in question, but I'm surprised the ruling doesn't extend to .xlsx and .pptx, since those are both XML based. Also, what about Open Office.org's Open Document Format (.odf), which is XML based?
I think sometimes these people should get exactly what they deserve.
Microsoft should actually stop selling MS Office, and should demand that everyone stops using it also.
Why do these people want to destroy the industry like this. One can't just patent something and expect the whole world to stand still while one sits on one's dumb patent/ass.
There's this guy in India who was recently awarded a patent for dual sim phones in 2008, and the law-court is actually preventing every company from selling dual-sim phones in India - SICK
It is a joke that someone can patent a concept, sit on it, then sue in a few years once someone else creates a similar product and conveniently is successful at selling it. In many cases, without even knowing the original existed. That just stifles innovation and progress.
The patent holder should only have a finite amount to time from the date the product is created.
@MemphisNET
Ballmer: I can't figure out what, if anything, i4i does, so rather than risk competing with you, I've decided simply to buy you out.
i4i: we reluctantly accept your proposal.
Ballmer: Well everyone always does. Buy 'em out, boys!
[MSFT lackeys trash the room.]
i4i: Hey, what the hell's going on!
Ballmer: Oh, I didn't get rich by writing a lot of checks! [insane laughter]
-jp
a REALLY FUNNY twist would be if Microsoft was barred from selling and distributing MS WORD, and the FEDERAL police started cracking down on people pirating it. That would provide the biggest lulz in history.
Also, open office is free, so they aren't selling it.
Poor M$, when will the lawsuits end...?
LOL U USED A DOLLAR SIGN, AWSOME!! LUL
LOL U USED CAPS LOCK, AWESOME!! LUL
Awesome *
He's the grammar police, not the spelling police.
@iPoop
Speak for yourself. While you may have a nub, I have a 6-foot pole.
LOL
I bet the legal ruling was written using Word.
Actually, a lot of law offices I've seen/worked at use WordPerfect...
Why not just hire a ninja assassin it seems cheaper.
Nah that's more of an Apple thing.
how can some one award such a generic patent to something that has been used by everybody else for so long?
It's not a patent on XML. It is, and I quote from the article above, "i4i's patent on a method for reading XML". So Microsoft used their method for reading XML in Word. I'm sure they'll settle quickly, they're not going to allow anything to prevent them from selling Word.
We just bought 2 copies of Office 2008 the other day, heh.
because the US has the shittiest patent system...
To the shitty, by the shitty.
@Macavre
I second that. It prevents any real innovation from being done in the U.S. Same system that promotes corporate greed, which is in turn why our aging Land line companies like AT&T and others will never upgrade our internet infrastructure forever, and we sit by watching other countries more forward.
The patent system isn't the only thing that's shitty in the US. (*cough* economy *cough*)
@Zak
No one ever said it was a patent on XML. On the other hand it is overly vague and the coupling of CSS/HTML comes to mind as an example of prior art straight away.
Mark - Do you just reflexively argue with me, without actually reading the post that I'm responding to? htd said:
"how can some one award such a generic patent to something that has been used by everybody else for so long?"
I took that to mean he was referring to XML itself, not the specific methodology Microsoft implemented in Word to read XML. You disagree? If so, why exactly? It should be obvious that a method for reading XML can be patented, so it wouldn't make any sense to ask how it could be patented, nor does it make any sense to say everybody has been using it for so long, because how would you know who has been using that specific method for reading XML, and why would you assume a lot of people have been using it when you know it's been patented?
Welcome to Texas, pardner! We make damn sure y'all have your rights - including the right to sue anyone on the flimsiest grounds.
Don't like the US patent system (MS sure doesn't right now), then tell your congressman to get behind the 2009 Patent Reform Act.
I just read through the Patent Reform Act of 2009, it does nothing to kill off patent trolls, my biggest complaint, and the biggest block to innovation out there. I absolutely HATE it when someone patents something and does absolutely nothing with it until someone infringes on that patent, and then they make millions because they sue them. We need to get rid of patent trolls.
zak, i just want to know why you refered to yourself as we
I didn't. "We" is referring to the company I work for, since I didn't personally buy those copies of Office.
oh that makes sense
A World Without Word?!!!!
NOOOooooooooooooo........ damn you eye4eye..... damn you.....
i love how a company called i4i is taking exorbitant amounts of money from microsoft that far exceeds any losses on their part. o delicious irony.
I have three questions.
Isn't the idea of XML that it is open source?
Didn't MS go to XML so that other programs can more easily read the documents it creates?
Can you really patent a method for reading an open source code? If so, I think I will patent a method for interpreting objects by wave length and focal point so that everyone must walk around with there eyes closed. then when I see anyone with there eyes open, I can sue!
Thanks you did the work now I off to the patent office.
+1
>>Isn't the idea of XML that it is open source?
Not "open source" which is something else entirely. The idea is that it is a plaintext standard that is more readily parseable by 3rd party utilities. That's the idea at least.
>>Didn't MS go to XML so that other programs can more easily read the documents it creates?
They went XML because people demanded it. However, their XML is still very nasty and contains many MS-proprietary things that are hard for 3rd party apps to parse and render correctly. And their OOXML standard isn't even fully implemented by MS even (in fact, it's so complex it probably never will be.)
>>Can you really patent a method for reading an open source code? If so, I think I will patent a method for interpreting objects by wave length and focal point so that everyone must walk around with there eyes closed. then when I see anyone with there eyes open, I can sue!
Software patents are legendary for being ridiculous and trivial. They can shut down entire avenues of research and development if in the hands of a sue-happy company full of lawyers and no actual developers.
I can answer all three questions in one go Eric.
No you don't have a clue what you are talking about.
I just made a patent to read XML by shoving my finger up nose until pain threshold has been met.
Oh no! You mean MS is being singled out for "innovating" ? What is this country coming to?
@ Apocalypse: obvious, as soon as MS stop behaving like the Godfather of the computer industry.
May they rot in hell.
Please, tell us how you really feel about a software corporation.
MS has their hands in SO much this is bound to continue happening until they just buy up EVER tech company that owns a patent..
This is one of those times I'm actually on Microsoft's side.
Seriously...a patent on XML? Are they trying to break the use of the word irony or something? The whole point of XML is that it is extensible....
R.I.P. Clippy...
Clippy is coming back http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2009/08/10/237245/darpa-designs-a-new-clippy-virtual-assistant-military.htm
If clippy comes back I'll unbend him into a straight piece of wire and recycle him.
lmao
So....
Will OpenOffice will need to stop free distribution because it also "reads" XML?
Friggin' unedumacated Judges. Anybody remember Amazon's one-click patent. Jeez.