Patents and XML

There has been plenty of discussion recently on patents filed by Microsoft in the area of XML for Office XML Schema and XML based scripting. A search of the patent office's database shows that those that contain XML in the title and those that just reference XML as a technology continue to be submitted from numerous different companies across the software industry at an increasing rate. The patent process serves an important role - to ensure that innovation is spread throughout society by openly sharing knowledge, whilst at the same time protecting the investment of those who have put the time and effort into the innovative creation. Without this ability, companies and individuals across all industries would keep information hidden so as not to be upserted by a competitor. On the whole for society to progress in a competitive environment patents are a necessary thing. Of course there are the ones that you wished that you have filed first, the useless and the totally bizarre , but patents like art are all subjective in their qualify to improve society. Software innovations are no less patentable then any other creation. It will be interesting to see how the new W3C patent policy affects the future development and innovations of XML technologies in the industry.