The proposed patent would cover methods for an application other than the original word processor to access data in the document. The U.S. Patent Office had no record of a similar application.
In December Microsoft opened up the schemas for companies and individuals to view, and recently announced that it is considering opening up more of the Office code as part of its Shared Source Initiative.
"While the XML standard itself is royalty-free, nothing precludes a company from seeking patent protection for a specific software implementation that incorporates elements of XML," Martin said. "The presence of this patent application...does nothing to change the commitment Microsoft made this past November when it announced the available of a royalty-free licensing program for our Office 2003 XML reference schemas."
"This is an industry-standard means of differentiation followed by other major companies," Martin said.
"I think it's going to be a non-issue, legally. I just don't think the patent will be accepted," Sam Hiser (OpenOffice.org)said. There is a large number of precedents for applications sharing XML data. "This is Microsoft doing its aggressive best to protect its interests."
Currently there are no Talkback posted on "Microsoft files for XML related patents", 
