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US Court Tells Microsoft To Stop Selling Word

oranghutan writes "A judge in a Texas court has given Microsoft 60 days to comply with an order to stop selling Word products in their existing state as the result of a patent infringement suit filed by i4i. According to the injunction, Microsoft is forbidden from selling Word products that let people create XML documents, which both the 2003 and 2007 versions let you do. Michael Cherry, an analyst quoted in the article, said, 'It's going to take a long time for this kind of thing to get sorted out.' Few believe the injunction will actually stop Word from being sold because there are ways of working around it. In early 2009, a jury in the Texas court ordered Microsoft to pay i4i $200 million for infringing on the patent. ZDNet has a look at the patent itself, saying it 'sounds a bit generic.'"

15 of 403 comments (clear)

  1. Does that mean... by NervousNerd · · Score: 3, Funny

    Does that mean the next version of Office will really be a re-branded version of Office 97?

    1. Re:Does that mean... by ByOhTek · · Score: 4, Funny

      No, they'll probably have Office Texas 2009, which is like Office 2007, except that it has the XML stuff cut out, and a new language code added: en_TX

      --
      Self proclaimed typo king, and inventor of the bear destroying coffee table (patent not pending).
    2. Re:Does that mean... by TheP4st · · Score: 3, Funny

      I'm getting to like the new ribbons, but sometimes the location of a function seems a tad obscure....

      So, instead of finding function X in obscure location Y, now you instead have to find it in obscure location Z? ;-)

      --
      "I have downloaded hundreds and hundreds of records, why would I care if somebody downloads ours?" Robin Pecknold
    3. Re:Does that mean... by s4m7 · · Score: 5, Funny

      new language code added: en_TX

      Finally spellcheck will quit flagging "Y'all"

      --
      This comment is fully compliant with RFC 527.
    4. Re:Does that mean... by AHuxley · · Score: 4, Funny

      There's no money being made there, is there?
      Parody software is protected speech :)

      --
      Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
  2. O'Reilly "Learning XML Patents"? by rlseaman · · Score: 4, Funny

    So when does the O'Reilly "Learning XML Patents" book hit the shelves and what animal will grace the cover?

    1. Re:O'Reilly "Learning XML Patents"? by Dr_Barnowl · · Score: 5, Funny

      what animal will grace the cover?

      A leech.

  3. The animal will be some sort of pond life by Viol8 · · Score: 3, Funny

    To represent patent lawyers everywhere.

  4. Re:PENIS PENIS HAHAHA PENIS by hairyfeet · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm sorry, but I'm afraid your trolling simply doesn't measure up to the high standards we have here at Slashdot. You see, unlike at digg or fark, we here at Slashdot have a rich tradition of truly great trolling, and because of this we try to attract only the best and brightest of the trolling community. Our trolls have gone on to lead very rich and lucrative careers in exciting and rewarding fields such as shills for Microsoft and Comcast management. Who do you think came up with the "Word incompatibilities" and "Weird Excel Math" bugs? That's right, a former Slashdot troll!

    So please, in the future put more care and thought into your trolling. Remember that you are walking the path blazed by such luminaries as the GNAA and that you stand beside such greats as the shit eater troll and the ASCII goatse guy. So in the future try to remember the greats that came before you along with your trolling peers and live up to their high standards. Maybe if you troll hard you too will join the greats and have your portrait in the trolling hall of fame!(Currently located in the mens room of the Hooters restaurant in Paramus,NJ) Thank you for your time and may you have a successful career trolling here at slashdot!

    --
    ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
  5. Re:Live by sword... by ArtemaOne · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm sorry, that 1991 memo was 17 years old in 2008, and is no longer valid.

  6. Re:"sounds a bit generic" by GrumblyStuff · · Score: 3, Funny

    Fortunately, all I had to do was patent putting edible substances and food stuffs in heated water. Soup, hot chocolate, coffee, hot tubs... yeah, baby. I got 'em covered.

  7. I'm confused by jayme0227 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Who are we supposed to favor in this fight? Microsoft or the patent troll?

    I can't quite figure it out myself.

    --
    But then I realized the cable was blue, so I only gave it one star. I hate blue.
  8. Re:PENIS PENIS HAHAHA PENIS by sukotto · · Score: 5, Funny

    If we have sunk to new depths, it is by having giants stand upon our shoulders

    --
    Come play free flash games on Kongregate!
  9. Re:For those that are happy... by gbjbaanb · · Score: 3, Funny

    If this is held up then XML looks to be a dead format

    well, every cloud....

  10. Re:PENIS PENIS HAHAHA PENIS by The+Archon+V2.0 · · Score: 3, Funny

    If we have sunk to new depths, it is by having giants stand upon our shoulders

    I thought it was from standing in the footprints of giants.

    If a giant tries to stand on your shoulders, you'll probably find yourself in the footprint fairly fast, albeit not standing.