# Microsoft Can't sell Word anymore



## schielrn (Aug 13, 2009)

Anyone seen this:

http://blogs.moneycentral.msn.com/t...2/judge-bans-microsoft-from-selling-word.aspx

Thought it was kind of interesting.


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## Norie (Aug 13, 2009)

http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/350722/judge-bans-sales-of-microsoft-word-in-us


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## Domski (Aug 14, 2009)

Read about it on the BBC yesterday. Just a lot of sabre rattling and blowing of hot air most likely. MS will pay them off or buy them and it'll all be forgotten.

Dom


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## schielrn (Aug 14, 2009)

Domski said:


> Read about it on the BBC yesterday. Just a lot of sabre rattling and blowing of hot air most likely. MS will pay them off or buy them and it'll all be forgotten.
> 
> Dom


This is what I assume will happen as well.


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## Domski (Aug 14, 2009)

It's maybe a bit more complex with Google Docs and Open Office also being involved but MS tend to have their way.

Dom


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## DonkeyOte (Aug 14, 2009)

If they can't sell it how do they intend to spread the MS Word ?

(...get's coat)


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## schielrn (Aug 14, 2009)

There seem to be many comedians on this board as well as excel gurus.


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## Andrew Fergus (Aug 16, 2009)

It's a bit rich isn't it? The complainant instructs users to use MS Word to create templates and to author xml documents (see here). Maybe MS should invoke the very phrase that is the complainant's name.


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## arkusM (Aug 18, 2009)

Andrew Fergus said:


> It's a bit rich isn't it? The complainant instructs users to use MS Word to create templates and to author xml documents (see here). Maybe MS should invoke the very phrase that is the complainant's name.


 

Would this not be the same as developing a bang-up app and then have MS like it so much they start distributing it with out recompense to you the developer? 

@Dom. You nailed it. MS's SOP.


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## Andrew Fergus (Aug 18, 2009)

I couldn't see an application the complainant had developed.  Rightly or wrongly I interpreted it as a method of using Word to achieve a task.....is that not the case?


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## arkusM (Aug 19, 2009)

Andrew Fergus said:


> I couldn't see an application the complainant had developed. Rightly or wrongly I interpreted it as a method of using Word to achieve a task.....is that not the case?


 
You are right, it is ironic that they are blocking a product that is necessary for the distribution of their own product... But I guess it is the principle of the matter. 
It is a mad, mad world.


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## schielrn (Dec 22, 2009)

Well it finally looks like a verdict has came and all new versions of "Word" will be ceased as of Jan. 11, 2010.  Looks like Microsoft is going to ahve to devise a workaroudn for it:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091222/ap_on_bi_ge/us_microsoft_patent


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## sous2817 (Dec 22, 2009)

It's interesting how two different articles on the same story have two different results:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/22/AR2009122203107.html?hpid=sec-tech

From schielrn's article:  "Microsoft has said that it and the public will both suffer if Word goes off the market while the company devises a workaround."

From my article:  "Either way, though, Microsoft is already moving to get out of the box the court's ruling put it in. In a statement issued earlier Tuesday, the company said it "had put the wheels in motion to remove this little-used feature" from Word before the Jan. 11 deadline."

Meh, either way I find it hard to believe that Microsoft (or the public for that matter) will "suffer" because of this...


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## Oorang (Dec 28, 2009)

Word won't go off the market. They will pay a royalty or rush a fix into 2010 and release it. As long as this litigation has been going on, they almost certainly have a contingency plan. Letting everyone freak out as they ponder the ramification of the ruling is just a strategy to bring pressure to bear on the decision makers. If they can't influence a favorable decision then they will go to plan B. Right now letting everyone sweat works to their advantage because people won't be mad at MS for (allegedly) infringing on a patent. They will be mad at that company that created a problem without having a solution.


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