RE: [libreoffice-users] Re: Encrypted MSO files (docx,xlsx) in Libo

I think there is a misunderstanding.  The material at the Microsoft site does not include copies of 
the patents, not even the identifiers for patents.  Reading the specification of a format is going 
to tell you nothing about how implementing something according to those specifications might 
infringe a patent held by anyone, not just Microsoft.

And so long as the specification is under the Open Specification Promise, there is no problem with 
Microsoft patents, if there are any, so long as the OSP conditions are honored.

Now, you might be so wary that this is not enough.  Then there is ODF to deal with also.

Sun provided a reassurance about ODF that is comparable (not literally the same) to the Open 
Specification Promise for the free-to-the-public specifications for the Microsoft binary formats 
and some of the common functions shared among them, such as [MS-OFFCRYPTO].

Microsoft personnel participated in preparation of ODF 1.2 and OpenFormula, where there is a lot of 
attention to providing functions and formulas that correspond to ones in Excel.  It seems that one 
cannot avoid coming to grips with this.  

Microsoft has promised to treat Standards at OASIS and ISO/IEC for ODF 1.2 under the Open 
Specification Promise too.  Approval of an OASIS Standard for ODF 1.2 should happen in the next 
month or two.  ISO/IEC acceptance of ODF 1.2 will likely be resolved by next Summer, it seems to 
me.  That seems like a good thing, yes?

 - Dennis



-----Original Message-----
From: Nuno J. Silva [mailto:nunojsilva@ist.utl.pt] 
Sent: Saturday, September 10, 2011 02:36
To: users@global.libreoffice.org
Subject: Re: [libreoffice-users] Re: Encrypted MSO files (docx,xlsx) in Libo

On 2011-09-10, Dennis E. Hamilton wrote:
> planas [mailto:jslozier@gmail.com]  wrote:
> > On Fri, 2011-09-09 at 21:51 +0100, Dave Howorth wrote: 
> > > On Fri, 2011-09-09 at 09:27 -0700, NoOp wrote:
> > > > Really? I see nothing hidden here:
> > > >
> > > > http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc313071%28v=office.12%29.aspx
> > > >
> > > > <http://download.microsoft.com/download/2/4/8/24862317-78F0-4C4B-B355-C7B2C1D997DB/%5BMS-OFFCRYPTO%5D.pdf>
> > >
> > > I think the interesting bit is the following:
> > >
> > > "Microsoft has patents that may cover your implementations of the
> > > technologies described in the Open Specifications. Neither this notice
> > > nor Microsoft's delivery of the documentation grants any licenses under
> > > those or any other Microsoft patents. However, a given Open
> > > Specification may be covered ..."
> > >
> > > The emphasis, I feel, is on the word "may".
[...]
> I noticed that Haworth left of the part after the "may be covered
> ... "?
>
> Is it not good to first check to see if the specification is indeed
> covered or not?

> From what I recall from some USENET talks about this, it's actually
better *not* to check, as if you knowingly violate a patent, fines and
the rest are heavier than if you didn't know there was a patent.

> So until the US Congress decides to abandon the power to legislate
> patents and copyrights stipulated in the US Constitution, this is
> pretty much as good as it gets short of MSFT not having obtained any
> patents in the first place (whether or not any apply to items under
> the Open Specification Promise).

We don't need the US Congress (and some other legislative branches over
the world) to stop legislating patents, we just need them to stop
screwing the definition of patent. Algorithm patenteability is a
Pandora's box that should have never been opened.

(Copyright has nothing to do with this, unless you plan to copy
Microsoft's code in some way.)

IANAL

-- 
Nuno J. Silva (aka njsg)
gopher://sdf-eu.org/1/users/njsg

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