September 23 will be the date a federal appeals court has set for a hearing within the i4i vs. Microsoft patent infringement case more than Microsoft Phrase.I;m doubtful Microsoft will let issues go that long. I;m betting we;ll see possibly a settlement in between the Redmondians along with the Toronto-based corporation that won its patent suit in Texas per week ago — or Microsoft will issue a patch for Word that will pull Custom XML from the product.According to the ruling in the case,
Office 2010 Pro Plus Key, which Microsoft is appealing,
Office Standard, Microsoft is prohibited from selling or importing to the United States “any Microsoft Phrase products that have the capability of opening .XML, .DOCX or DOCM files (XML files) containing custom XML.”I;ve heard Microsoft already has developed a patch for Word 2007 which disables the Custom XML functionality and is ready to roll that patch out,
Cheap Office 2010, via Windows Update, at a moment;s notice.Microsoft legal spokesperson Kevin Kutz wouldn;t comment on that patch. Instead,
Office 2007 Pro Plus, he maintained the consistent firm party line: “As we;ve maintained throughout this process,
Office 2010 Standard, we believe the evidence clearly demonstrates that we do not infringe and that the i4i patent is invalid. We look forward to filing our appeal and to Court of Appeals review. ”Microsoft requested an expedited review within the situation — via which provider officials claimed enforcement of i4i;s patent would result in “irreperable harm” to customers if the Softies were forced to pull Word from the market. – was denied.Microsoft;s legal team is great at playing chicken with lawyers and their clients. The back and forth more than
Windows 7 E, the browserless version of
Windows 7 that Microsoft is currently holding in its back pocket in case its settlement talks with the European Commission go awry, is evidence of that.Any predictions on what will happen inside the i4i case? Will Microsoft settle, patch or choose some other route?