Judge orders Microsoft to stop selling Word

[whooleytoo]

Sure, read the article.

So maybe the company's next move will be to sue the W3C for the XHTML / CSS standards...

Sure, but even that - as you say - is very vague; and certainly sounds to me like it could be applied to CSS.

I'm hoping it's a bit more specific than just that.

 

[killerrobot]

Sure, read the article.

So maybe the company's next move will be to sue the W3C for the XHTML / CSS standards...

And then OpenOffice because it can read .docx files as well.

So, the court only ruled on Word 2003 and 07 - nothing about Office for Mac 2004 and 2008. If this sticks, should we expect Mac sales to take off now or what

 

[Eraserhead]

Really?

I think we'd not give a toss to be honest.

I suppose the people wouldn't give a toss. Companies would though, which was more my point . Businesses would be really pissed off if they weren't legally able to get hold of a copy of Microsoft Office if they were expanding for example.

EDIT: There is also the increased risk (if it actually gets banned) of it happening to other companies selling other products which would then make doing business in the US more risky as their products could arbitrarily get banned because someone thought of the idea first (but couldn't actually bring it to market).

 

[testcard]

Am I right in assuming that the judge who made the ruling is a federal judge, hence the ruling applies across the US rather than just in Texas? You've probably gathered that I've gained my comprehensive knowledge of US law from the novels of John Grisham

 

[techfreak85]

weird.... i wonder how long until it sells again, maybe they will use some of their R 'n' D budg.... oh wait.


and im surprised this isnt frontpage stuff.... id made AI.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

Am I right in assuming that the judge who made the ruling is a federal judge, hence the ruling applies across the US rather than just in Texas? You've probably gathered that I've gained my comprehensive knowledge of US law from the novels of John Grisham

It is a federal judge but has to be a pretty low one to be in the state of Texas.

Also why the hell are the suing in that appetite court at all. Also the judges running I believe does not even effect the entire state of Texas much less the rest of the nation.

 

[MacVixen]

It is a federal judge but has to be a pretty low one to be in the state of Texas.

What does THAT mean?

Also why the hell are the suing in that appetite court at all. Also the judges running I believe does not even effect the entire state of Texas much less the rest of the nation.

Again... If it doesn't affect the state of Texas, much less the entire US, then who does it cover? Word only can't be sold in Marshall, TX?
As to why sue in that appellate court... it's the Patent Infringement capital of the US - the juries there are very sympathetic to plaintiff's for whatever reason...

 

[Surely]

It is a federal judge but has to be a pretty low one to be in the state of Texas.

Also why the hell are the suing in that appetite court at all. Also the judges running I believe does not even effect the entire state of Texas much less the rest of the nation.

So much wrong......

I think you need to read some John Grisham yourself....... or at least wikipedia.

 

[NXTMIKE]

There's also this article from The Toronto Star.

http://www.thestar.com/business/article/680142

boy do the owners of i4i look happy in the photo.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

It isn't XML format that is the problem. Rather "Custom XML format put in by MS" that is the problem. Remember that MS developed the .docx format soon after they were forced to make .doc specifications public. They tried the end run and at least for now are caught.

And it would be unusual for an appeal court to rule within two months.

Does this mean that Apple, Sun, and any company that makes software that is .docx compatible, is also in trouble?

 

[MorphingDragon]

Does this mean that Apple, Sun, and any company that makes software that is .docx compatible, is also in trouble?

Remember, they say in its current state. We may just lose Docx as a format and go to .odf or something.

 

[steviem]

I hate these stupid patents.

The other problem is if Microsoft changes from docx to odf, they will still be infringing upon this stupid patent.

I really hope this gets overturned, not for Microsoft, but for the Open Source projects using XML for document file formats.

 

[MorphingDragon]

I hate these stupid patents.

The other problem is if Microsoft changes from docx to odf, they will still be infringing upon this stupid patent.

I really hope this gets overturned, not for Microsoft, but for the Open Source projects using XML for document file formats.

Not if ALL .docx utility and reference is killed off officially.

 

[SactoGuy18]

Watch Microsoft buy this company for US$300 million and end the legal wrangling in no time flat.

 

[MOFS]

Does this mean that Apple, Sun, and any company that makes software that is .docx compatible, is also in trouble?

I imagine that because they're .docx compatible, they'll be able to rightly claim that they only adopted the .docx in order to remain compatible with the industry standard, although I would expect them too to be ordered to remove that compatibility from products.

 

[Ambrose Chapel]

upheld on appeal

A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld a $290 million judgment against Microsoft Corp. and issued an injunction that will prevent the sale of its popular Word software.

and

The court injunction is set to go into effect Jan. 11. Microsoft has said such a bar would prohibit the sale of all currently available versions of Microsoft Word and Microsoft Office.

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2009/12/22/court_microsoft_violated_patent_cant_sell_word/

edit: more from the WSJ:

Microsoft said it was moving quickly to comply with the decision and expects to have altered versions of Word 2007 ready by the time the injunction goes into effect on Jan. 11. It also said that beta versions of the next generation of Word, due in 2010, and Office 2010 won't be affected by the injunction.

 

[clevin]

If MS can't get it repealed, they will just throw $$$ in i4i's face and settle it. stop selling word and office? maybe after hell freeze over.

eventually, its not gonna hurt MS if XML is being damned because of this. Its not like MS is the one who is pushing XML, they benefit more with their own, quasi-standard format.

I dont blame them if they decide to withdraw from open document standards, see who will be crying if that happens.

 

[ArrowSmith]

Another out of control judge. I'm sure Apple fanbois are applauding, easier to beat MSFT with the government on your side holding 'em down while you kick.

 

[notjustjay]

Another out of control judge. I'm sure Apple fanbois are applauding, easier to beat MSFT with the government on your side holding 'em down while you kick.

Eh? If this is truly an infringement, then Microsoft needs to fix it.

My understanding is that this isn't just a patent troll, but in fact a true case of legitimate infringement.

Found this quote from Engadget:

Just to be clear on this, i4i isn't a patent troll -- it's a a 30 person database design company that shipped one of the first XML plugins for Office and was actually responsible for revamping the entire USPTO database around XML to make it compatible with Word back in 2000. What's more, the patents involved here don't cover XML itself, but rather the specific algorithms used to read and write custom XML -- so OpenOffice users can breathe easy, as i4i has said the suite doesn't infringe. Existing Office users should also be fine, as only future sales of Word are affected by the ruling, not any already-sold products.

Engadget: Helping you flame with accuracy.

 

[dejo]

I'm sure Apple fanbois are applauding,

Strawmen can't even move their arms, let alone applaud.