Microsoft gets Word injunction stayed

Microsoft has been granted its request to halt the injunction stopping it selling Word. An appeals court has acceded to the company's request staying the injunction until after the appeal hearing.

The appeal was in reaction to a court decision from mid-August that gave it 60 days to stop selling Word products that allow users to create custom XML documents. The ruling, which also includes additional damages Microsoft must pay, stemmed from a patent infringement suit filed in 2007 by i4i. The court has ordered Microsoft to pay more than US$290 million in damages in total.

The most common versions of Word on the market now - Word 2003 and Word 2007 - both allow users to create custom XML documents. Custom XML lets people create forms or templates so that words in certain fields are tagged and can be managed in a database. The technology is used by large companies and government agencies, for example.

If the appeals court ultimately upholds the injunction, Microsoft could potentially develop a workaround that avoids using the disputed technology or strip the capability from the products.

Microsoft said it was pleased with the appeals court decision and that it looks forward to presenting its case at a hearing on 23 September.