Developers Warned over OOXML Patent Risk

Tendraes brings us a story about legal experts who are warning that Microsoft's "covenant not to sue" over use of the OOXML specification is both ambiguous and untested. Developers wishing to make use of OOXML are unlikely to understand the complex legal language of the Open Specification Promise, and such a document - being neither a release nor a contract - has never been tested in court. From ZDNet Asia: "David Vaile, executive director of the Cyberspace Law and Policy Center at the University of New South Wales, said that Microsoft participants at a recent symposium on the issue found it challenging to explain how an ordinary person 'or even an ordinary lawyer' could easily determine which parts of the specification were covered. 'This lack of certainty would mean a cautious lawyer may be reluctant to advise any third party to rely on the promise without extensive and potentially quite expensive analysis, and even that could be inconclusive,' Vaile said. 'In turn, this could restrict its viability as a usable standard for less well-resourced users, including small developers and many public organizations.'"

Comments

Re:The same has been said of the GPL

[ContractualObligatio]

it doesn't change that you're being pretty harsh on somebody you don't know, while leaving yourself open to mockery for errors.

Fair point. Although I'm confident that making something of an error made during a few milliseconds of typing on an online forum leaves yourself open for much more mockery than me.

Given the smug arrogance of someone saying I'm wrong because they understood the GPL with no problem, I simply wasn't worried about being harsh. I carefully chose my wording to refer to their post and not to be ad hominem attack, but nonetheless it was just egotistical bullshit and I'm happy to point that out.

As for "challenging a person's interpretation of a document" or chiding them for a "lack of effort", I did no such thing. That would certainly be an insult, but you appear determined to put words in my mouth. Presumably this is a well intentioned desire to be politically correct, but in preference to a fair interpretation of what was actually written it is kind of annoying. Your view is clear, but the reason you hold it is not.