This IDC Insight discusses the June 30, 2008, announcement by Microsoft of new steps in its interoperability principles initiative, continuing efforts to promote interoperability between its products in a more open way to its partners and competitors. This Insight puts Microsoft's announcement in perspective and comments on the progress Microsoft has made on the path to greater openness. In IDC's opinion, the following are the most important parts of the announcement:

• Non-discriminatory licensing terms for Microsoft's patents based on a flat 1% revenue royalty on the protocols inside of any one of a select list of products (The products covered by this list are the latest versions of Microsoft Office, SharePoint Server, Exchange Server, Windows Server, and Microsoft Windows Vista.)
• A list indicating which of the published protocols built into this select list of products are covered by Microsoft patents or patent applications
• New technical documentation for the .doc, .ppt, and .xls file formats for Microsoft Office versions 97 through 2003 (This documentation is available to anyone on a royalty-free basis under Microsoft's Open Specification Promise [OSP].)
• More complete, Version 1.0, technical documentation of protocols Microsoft published earlier incorporating user feedback on clarity and completeness