The Microsoft Office Open XML file format technology will be submitted to the Ecma standards body, and Microsoft has promised not to sue for patent infringement anyone who builds software that can read and write to Office Open XML files. The moves earned praise from a prominent open-source advocate and could help Microsoft satisfy governments (such as Massachusetts and the European Union) that want to ensure that government documents are not locked into proprietary formats.

Ecma (formerly the European Computer Manufacturers Association, but now known only by its acronym) is a standards body that focuses on development of standards for IT and consumer technologies. Microsoft has previously submitted the C# programming language and the Common Language Infrastructure (CLI)—components of Microsoft's .NET Framework—to Ecma for approval of standards. Standards developed by Ecma are often approved by the International Standards Organization (ISO) as well.

Addressing Massachusetts' Objections

The decision to put the Office file format through a standards process follows a decision by IT planners at the government of Massachusetts to adopt the Open Document Format (ODF), the native format for the open-source OpenOffice.org desktop suite, and Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF) as acceptable formats for government use starting in 2007. Massachusetts officials did not approve the Office Open XML format, which will be the default file format for the next version of Office, and said that it does not meet their definition of an open standard. The government wants to ensure that citizens can access government documents for the foreseeable future without needing proprietary software, such as Office. Massachusetts' action is significant because many governments are wrestling with the issue of long-term document accessibility and don't want to give any advantage to a particular vendor. The decision boosted Office competitors and raised the possibility that Office would be replaced on government computers.

Submission to Ecma will help Microsoft address some of Massachusetts' concerns, including a requirement that a document format be subject to review by other parties and be approved by an external standards body. Microsoft is submitting Office XML to Ecma with cosponsorship from Apple, BP, the British Library, Intel, NextPage, and Toshiba, among others. Ecma will form a technical committee to review the specification.

Ratification by Ecma alone would not address all objections to the Microsoft format, such as Microsoft patents that could affect other products developed to work with it. Ecma standards (unlike those from some other standards organizations, such as the World Wide Web Consortium) can include patented components, and while Ecma requires these patents to be licensed under reasonable and non-discriminatory (RAND) terms, Ecma does not further define RAND terms.

To further clarify its position, Microsoft published a document on its Web site stating that it "irrevocably covenants that it will not seek to enforce any of its patent claims necessary to conform to the technical specifications for the Microsoft Office 2003 XML Reference Schemas" and said the covenant will be extended to the Office 12 version of the file format as well. In addition to providing legal shelter for non-Microsoft developers, the change also means that those developers will not need to obtain licenses from Microsoft.

The covenant earned plaudits from Larry Rosen, the Open Source Initiative's first general counsel and secretary, and author of Open Source Licensing. Rosen said the covenant "goes beyond anything Microsoft has ever done before" and is "at least as generous as the patent licenses for many other document formats and industry standards." Rosen believes that the covenant will allow open-source developers to freely develop software that works with Office documents.

Shortly after Microsoft took these steps, Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney released a statement that the state is "optimistic" that Microsoft's Office Open XML format will meet its standards.

In addition to helping Microsoft meet government requirements, the move will aid open-source competitors, such as OpenOffice.org, which in the past have had to painfully reverse-engineer Office file formats, which are proprietary and not public documents. Submitting the Office format to Ecma will also give other parties opportunity to influence the standard and will provide better documentation than has been available.

An interview with Jean Paoli, Microsoft's main XML architect, can be found at www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2005/nov05/11-21Ecma.mspx.

The covenant not to sue is posted at www.microsoft.com/office/xml/covenant.mspx.

Massachusetts' decision on document formats is described in "Massachusetts Directive Bypasses Office XML" on page 21 of the Nov. 2005 Update.