Consider Your Exposure in Microsoft Access Patent Case

Source: www.gartner.com
Topic: Microsoft Office

Short Desciption:
Silver, Alexa Bona A patent ruling will require changes to some Microsoft Office and Access installations. Only new installations are affected, but most businesses will need to take some action.

 

Content Inside:
Research Publication Date: 3 February 2006 ID Number: G00137724 © 2006  Gartner, Inc. and/or its Affiliates. All Rights Reserved.  Reproduction of this publication in any form without prior written permission is forbidden. The conclusions, projections and recommendations represent Gartners initial analysis. As a result, our positions are subject to refinements or major changes as Gartner analysts gather more information and perform further analysis. Gartner disclaims all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of such information. Although Gartners research may discuss legal issues related to the information technology business, Gartner does not provide legal advice or services and its research should not be construed or used as such. Gartner shall have no liability for errors, omissions or inadequacies in the information contained herein or for interpretations thereof. The opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice. Consider Your Exposure in Microsoft Access Patent Case Michael A. Silver,  Alexa Bona A patent ruling will require changes to some Microsoft Office and Access installations. Only new installations are affected, but most businesses will need to take some action. Publication Date: 3 February 2006/ID Number: G00137724 of 3 © 2006 Gartner, Inc. and/or its Affiliates. All Rights Reserved. NEWS ANALYSIS Event On 30 January 2006, Gartner clients reported that Microsoft has begun informing business customers that they are required to install Service Pack 2 (SP2) on all new Office 2003 installations, and Service Pack 3 (SP3) and an additional patch on all new Office XP installations. The changes — which result from a court decision against Microsoft in a patent case — remove a feature that allows Access to add or edit data in an Excel spreadsheet. Microsoft has confirmed that this policy is in effect. Details are available at http://support.mic ...