A court in texas has ordered Microsoft to stop selling its word processor “Word” within 60 days.
i4i, a Canadian company, has been granted damages of $290 million from Microsoft after it was decided Microsoft wilfully violated a patent regarding the reading and processing of XML data. Microsoft have also been ordered by the court to stop selling the software, which they have 60 days to comply. Microsoft are of course going to appeal against the decision.
The XML, “docx” & “docm” formats are the ones singled out by the court, which are an integral part of Microsoft’s new format in Word 2007 – and subsequently newer versions of the software. It’s not clear where users will be left after this – but it could mean a patch to the software to prevent people saving or loading this format in the future.