In August, I wrote here about the Canadian company, i4i, that successfully sued Microsoft for patent infringement relative to Word’s XML editing and displaying capability. Well, Microsoft’s appeal of the judgment was not upheld, so sales of MS Word 2007 must stop in the U.S. if it contains the infringed patent code.
In August, I suggested that Microsoft would do to i4i what they did to Stack, Inc. That is, they would license the patent technology, give i4i a big payout and in addition to the violation judgment and then literally put them out of business within a few years. That would have been the Bill Gates approach to business. But this is the kinder,gentler Microsoft.
On January 11, 2010, Microsoft will sell MS Word 2007 (Office 2007) without the XML coding. Period. Office 2010 will not have the code in it either. Microsoft claims the feature “is little used.” That very well may be the case since Microsoft is not prepared to invest with the technology owner to include the capability in future MS Word releases. Or it could be that Microsoft will create its own proprietary code that will be purposely incompatible with the i4i patent with the intent of killing i4i’s market share. That would be an approach that would do Bill Gates proud.
But here’s where we, the consumer, really win. For the next two weeks, look for major price reductions on the Office 2007 suites, and Word 2007 in particular, as Microsoft offers steep price incentives to clear product off the shelf by the deadline rather than buy it back from vendors. If you don’t have Office 2007, now maybe a good time to buy it.