Microsoft Word banned from sale in US

prowla

Allegedly, MS Word includes features patented by another company, and all affected items have to be withdrawn from sale within 6 months.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/microsoft/6015902/Microsoft-banned-from-selling-Word-in-US.html

Scrilla

Thanks, needed a giggle.

Leopard

Never fear, they have Steve Ballmer to sort it out.

Looks like another company Microsoft's battered shareholders will have to buy. :rolleyes:

Leopard

Here's more.

busenbust

Will have to wait for a re-release

Marty_J

Given their past behaviour, I'm afraid I have limited sympathy for them.

Leopard

Sadly, I suspect that Microsoft will attempt to recoup the $300 million by producing a new version of Office that is incompatible with all the previous versions and forcing all those wedded to its software to "upgrade" to it. :rolleyes:

Still, for whatever lawyer pulled it off, being the leagle who injuncted Microsoft from selling Word is a nice one to have on one's personal record. :dance:

I wonder if he or she uses a Mac.

Marty_J

Leopard wrote: »

I wonder if he or she uses a Mac.

On that note, does anyone know if this affects Word for the Mac?

Leopard

Yes, it does. See the penultimate paragraph here.

But the injunction, so far, appears only to apply within the USA.

Many thanks for the link in your previous posting, MJ; you never cease to amaze me with what you know and find. :T

Glad to hear your liver transplant went well.

superscaper

I don't see, after looking at the ridiculous patent, how this doesn't affect pretty much any editor that can edit XML, whether that's Microsoft software, Mac or otherwise. I think it's going to be another one of those target the biggest first to get the most money then others after that.

Leopard

For Apple (and its users and shareholders) the most pertinent question would appear to be whether its own word processor, Pages, falls foul of that same patent (be it ridiculous or otherwise - upon which I am not qualified to judge).