Microsoft's attempt to appeal an earlier decision regarding infringements against developer i4i's patents on custom XML tagging has fallen through. Microsoft will be forced to pull Word 2007 and Office 2007 off shelves by January 11th.
The good news is that Microsoft prepared for this possibility ahead of time, and is prepared to remove the offending feature and have a clean product available for sale by the injunction date. Of course, this decision does not effect current owners of Office and Word products, nor does it affect the beta versions of Microsoft Word 2010 and Microsoft Office 2010. OpenOffice users are also safe, as their suite has been cleared of any infringement. [Microsoft and Engadget]


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