MS yet to offer i4i-cleared Office to public

Microsoft hasn't successfully shipped most if any retail versions of Office 2007 unaffected by the permanent injuction that took effect Monday, according to a quick check of Microsoft's online store. All boxed versions of the 2007 productivity suite, except for the $680 Ultimate package, are listed as "not available," and only downloadable copies are available today for most copies. Officially, Microsoft says just that the physical editions will be "available soon."

Office for Mac 2008 is also currently unavailable, though Office 2010 beta has never used the code.

The delay could prove a minor embarassment for the Redmond developer, which has a ready OEM version for new PCs but will lose out on retail sales until it's confirmed to be shipping a fully legal version. Microsoft had promised that it had been developing a sanctioned version of the affected software in advance.

A change in Office was required as Word 2007 was found in court to have allegedly infringed on patents held by Canada's i4i regarding custom XML code. Microsoft on Friday requested a full review to dispute the claims as it believes i4i's expert witnesses weren't reliable and that the court unfairly decided against it because of an improper pre-trial motion.

By Electronista Staff