Anyone else heard about this?

Toronto-based i4i, which has 30 employees, claims that Microsoft violated an obscure patent related to Extensible Markup Language or XML. It's a key software component of many websites and computer programs, including Word.

Judge Leonard Davis agreed Tuesday, ordering Microsoft to pay $290 million in fines and stop selling Word in the U.S. in 60 days. That could derail a core business for the world's largest software maker.

As part of Microsoft Office, Word is used by hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Office accounted for more than $3 billion in sales in the company's last fiscal year.

"It's not a question of fear or pride or anything else," Loudon Owen, i4i chairman says. "We're very respectful of Microsoft, but when you're in the right you have to persevere."

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Microsoft plans to appeal. "We are disappointed by the court's ruling," said Microsoft spokesman Kevin Kutz in a statement. "We believe the evidence clearly demonstrated that we do not infringe and that the i4i patent is invalid."

I4i, which mainly makes software for drug and defense companies, obtained the patent for a "customized XML" tool in 1998. XML is a specialized alphabet that can capture any kind of computer file as a regular text.

Microsoft started using XML as an alternative way to save Word files in Word 2003 and made it the default format for all Office files in Office 2007.

This made it easier for Microsoft and its partners to create programs such as accounting software that generates reports in Word formats, says Rob Helm, analyst at research firm Directions on Microsoft.

I4i sued Microsoft in 2007, claiming that Word uses the patented process. Now, "Microsoft is behind the eight ball and has 60 days to see if it can get the federal appeals court to stay the injunction," says Henry Sneath, a Pittsburgh intellectual property lawyer.

No one expects Microsoft to actually pull Word off the market. It's a big company with deep pockets that has faced many legal challenges over the years. It could win the appeal, settle with i4i, or even buy out the company.

Yeah came out last week in the news, i4i is bull crap. Many news journalists think that such patent laws should be removed because of this incident.

I already heard about it one week ago on a Linux community.

Microsoft is known for abusing software patents to maintain its dominant position. For once, it's Microsoft who tastes the medicine of patent abuse
Remember the MS vs TomTom lawsuit : http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10172442-56.html

And more info about why software patents are bad : http://petition.stopsoftwarepatents.eu/631001103342/

If Microsoft have to pay these fines, what about Open Office?

Ah see thats the thing, Open office is not used for buisness because it is a free software, if they were charging it would be different.

Microsoft Word is a big part of their program sales, next to the OS'. so i doubt that they will just willingly pull it off the market, they want money, so they will fight it to the end, and if they loose, bye bye Word. Its frustrating, but if they loose its inevitable. But we also got things like ++Notepad, and Open Office.

Xero wrote:Microsoft Word is a big part of their program sales, next to the OS'. so i doubt that they will just willingly pull it off the market, they want money, so they will fight it to the end, and if they loose, bye bye Word. Its frustrating, but if they loose its inevitable. But we also got things like ++Notepad, and Open Office.

But i like Microsoft Word Otherwise i can as well just resort back to typing in WordPad.

MS Word is not going anywhere. Its staying there for as long as MS survives. Do you think MS will just stop selling Word, one of its biggest assets. They will fight the courts and will most likely just pay a fine (although the millions of copies of MS Office will cover it up) and move on.