Is this patch mandatory?

The company I work for uses several internal tools that use the custom-XML in the templates so they can be backed-up properly (Compliance issues...). So unless applying the patch is required for the software to work, it will be blocked.

Also, isn't 'Custom XML' redundant? It is an open standard right? Or is this one of those junk patents that are so generic that even text editors and web browsers infringe on?

Does this explain the death of Office Accounting?

The whole proces for generating invoices/credit notes/quotes etc. in Microsoft Office Accounting relies (or should that be relied?) heavily on Word templates which use XML for inserting the fields from the database. This article makes me wonder if MOA's precipitate demise might have been triggered by M$'s wish to avoid such technology in one of its own products - or am I adding 2+2 and making 5?

TThere are more users of the Word XML features than MS will admit

Since custom XML is rarely used by Word users, according to Microsoft, one wonders why the new patch will only apply to the US.

This probably means that it is not such a useless feature like Microsoft want us to believe and there are more users than they will admit.

Removed?

"These files will continue to open, but any Custom XML elements will be removed. "

To me that sounds like deleting user's information. That can't be, can it? Couldn't they just "pass through"?

@Crazy Operations Guy, @ Frankg778

@Crazy Operations Guy

AFAIK this follows the court rulling for *future* sales. The ruling is *not* retroactive and does not apply to all US sold copies of Word.

However should you plan to buy future copies of Word to use these features they will be disabled. In which case you might need to approach i4i or other Word addin suppliers for this functionality (n idea who they might be).

@ Frankg778

I think because the i4i patent troll company is U.S. and the judgment was handed down in a Texas U.S. court.

3 statements, of which 2 are factual errors, all in 1 sentence.

Either your'e another MS glove puppet or your don't read El Reg much.

Assuming the latter I'll point out i4i is based in Toronto, Canada.

www.i4i.com for the record.

They supply and write XML authoring tools which can hook into the MS word interface.

The are an active software company with a shipping product line using the legal framework of one of the main markets they operate in to protect their resources.

You may feel software patents are a stupid idea. Calling them a patent troll is a mistake if you don't know about them and a lie if you did and wrote it anyway.