An nameless reader sends along this update to the ongoing patent battle between Microsoft and i4i involving XML formatting in Word. "Microsoft's motion to stay an
lesson has been granted; the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has allowed the company to keep selling Word as it appeals a patent ruling from last month. The injunction had an efficient date of October 10, but the motion to stay blocks the injunction until the appeal process is complete. If upheld, the injunction wouldn't stop current users from using Word, but it could prevent the os giant from selling Word 2003 or Word 2007, the most common versions of Word currently on the market, and would require the company to significantly tweak Word 2010, which is slated for the first half of next year. The victory is a small one for Microsoft; the company still has the whole appeals process to go through. 'We are happy with the result and look forward to presenting our arguments on the main issues on September 23,' a Microsoft representative told Ars. 'Microsoft's scare tactics about the ramification of the injunction cannot shield it from the immediate review of the case by the Federal Circuit Court of Appeal on the September 23 appeal,' said i4i principal Loudon Owen in reaction to the court's decision."

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