This is also interesting in a Danish setting. There has been a lot of arguing here in Denmark whether Microsoft’s XML schemas for word documents were in fact open. Now it seems that we are moving in the right direction.

Patent progress at MSFT?: “

There’s been lots of interesting commentary about Microsoft’s recent decision to submit its Office Document Formats to ECMA for ‘open standardization.’ That’s good news, depending, of course, on the details.

But this is even better news: Microsoft has also promised that ‘it will not seek to enforce any of its patent claims necessary to conform to the technical specifications for the Microsoft Office 2003 XML Reference Schemas.’

This shows some hope to the complex of issues around patents affecting software in the land of Microsoft. Even opponents of software and business method patents will advise companies to secure them — given others can as well. But behavior like this goes a long way to neutralizing the negative effect of such patents. No license. No agreement. Just an unequivocal promise — at least with respect to those who don’t sue Microsoft.

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(Via Lessig Blog.)

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