Extensible Markup Language (‘XML’) is a standard for describing content data in a manner that facilitates the sharing of such content across different systems and applications. Over the last 10 years, the XML standard has been adopted across a wide range of environments in the IT industry. Microsoft is one of many companies that is re-aligning its existing product range to take advantage of the flexibility of XML. One of its current initiatives is the standardization of the Office Open XML File Formats (‘File Formats’).This paper reviews the standardisation process that Microsoft has embarked upon and examines Microsoft’s legal arrangements related to intellectual property associated with the File Formats and the manner in which that legal treatment interacts with other products currently on the market.

This paper seeks to address and we hope to clarify any misunderstandings that may exist in the industry, among policymakers and the wider general public, about both the standardisation process and the legal arrangements governing implementation of the File Formats by others.

Overview of Office Open XML File Formats
For a number of years, the software and IT industry has been moving increasingly from proprietary systems and formats towards ‘open’ standards. In the business applications software market, there are moves to establish ‘open’ file formats of various office applications, including word processing, spreadsheet and presentation products, in order to enable users to easily transfer their documents and data between different applications and to ensure that if their applications cease to be supported in the future that they can access archived documents. Microsoft’s File Formats are one such effort to publish specifications for the document formats that are implemented in its Office 2007 product; which is also supported by earlier Microsoft Office versions through the installation of a freely downloadable‘compatibility pack’.

Download pdf Standardisation and Licensing of Microsoft’s Office Open XML File Formats