Microsoft is promising not to take any legal action against developers or customers who use any of 35 Web Service specifications.
The software maker, based in Redmond, Wash., issued a new “Open Specification Promise” on its Interoperability Web page on Sept. 12.
The full text of the promise, the list of all the specifications covered, as well as a detailed question and answer section can be found here.
“The Open Specification Promise is part of Microsoft’s overall interoperability commitment to customers and is for 35 core Web services specifications, including SOAP [Simple Object Access Protocol] and all Web services security specifications,” Tom Robertson, Microsoft’s general manager for interoperability and standards, told eWEEK Sept. 12.
Microsoft is also making “a personal promise to every individual and organization in the world that they can use any patented technology Microsoft has that is necessary to implement these Web Services specifications,” he said.
Microsoft has recently been reaching out to the open-source community to try to find ways to overcome the incompatibilities between software distributed under the GNU GPL (General Public License) and its own commercial software.
Microsoft and XenSource also recently announced a strategic relationship for the development of technology to provide interoperability between Xen-enabled Linux and Windows Server virtualization.
This latest promise follows other community-building efforts by Microsoft, such as the licensing of its source code through the Shared Source Initiative and the hosting of collaborative development projects on CodePlex and SourceForge, Robertson said.
It also comes as Microsoft waits to hear back from the European Commission about what it needs to do so that Windows Vista can ship on time in Europe.
Read the full story on eWEEK.com: Microsoft Promises Not to Sue over Web Services Specs
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