---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Richard Stallman rms@gnu.org To: letters@globe.com Subject: Letter column

Your article on Dec 7 said that Microsoft allows licensing of the Open XML document format "for free", and that this is similar to the situation with PDF format. However, the two situations are not similar.

The normally used parts of PDF format can be freely implemented by programmers, and place no restriction on the licenses of their programs. Many free/libre software packages implement PDF.

The patent license that Microsoft offers for Open XML does not demand a license fee, but it places a strict requirement on the license of any program that implements Open XML. (See http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/microsoft-new-monopoly.html.) Free/libre software is not allowed to implement Open XML at all.

Users should follow the State of Massachusetts' plan: keep away from the Open XML trap, and insist on such as ODF whose implementation is unrestricted.

Sincerely,

Richard Stallman President, Free Software Foundation Cambridge, Massachusetts

77 Mass Ave rm 32-381 Cambridge, MA 02139 617-253-8830 (but currently away thru tomorrow eve)