ping.
IOW, we won't enforce patents that shouldn't have been granted in the first place.
Still, great to hear this from Microsoft. Even the perpetually Microsoft-bashing owner of Groklaw is saying good things.
To clarify, “Microsoft Necessary Claims” are those claims of Microsoft-owned or Microsoft-controlled patents that are necessary to implement only the required portions of the Covered Specification that are described in detail and not merely referenced in such Specification.
The above is interesting in that it limits the pledge to the required portions that are described in detail. Does this mean that something optional is not covered? Microsoft has been known to embrace and extend a specification or two. If, in extending the specification, they use a patented method/system, then open source is not free and clear to simply go off and develop/deploy that extension.
This promise applies to all existing versions of the following specifications. Many of these specifications are currently undergoing further standardization in certain standards organizations. To the extent that Microsoft is participating in those efforts, this promise will apply to the specifications that result from those activities (as well as the existing versions).
The above is intersting for several reasons. Microsoft may have a patent or two that impact an upcoming specification. What if Microsoft does not participate in that specification?
It is interesting that Microsoft also held back on a few specifications published by W3C. Also, the list (in entirity) is not necessarily all new stuff. Many of the web service specifications already include disclaimers.
SOAP 1.1 Binding for MTOM 1.0 IBM, Microsoft, Oracle and SAP (collectively, the “Authors”) each agree to grant you a license, under royalty-free and otherwise reasonable, non-discriminatory terms and conditions, to their respective essential patent claims that they deem necessary to implement the Specification.
SOAP over UDP BEA, Lexmark, Microsoft, and Ricoh (collectively, the "Co-Developers") each agree to grant you a license, under royalty-free and otherwise reasonable, non-discriminatory terms and conditions, to their respective essential patent claims that they deem necessary to implement the Specification.
sounds like a bunch a paranoid people running around, think if MS was as bad as the movie/music industry.