Microsoft Open Specification Promise

The Microsoft Open Specification Promise (or OSP) is a promise by Microsoft, published in September 2006, to not assert its patents, in certain conditions, against implementations of a certain list of specifications.[1]

The OSP is not a licence, but rather a covenant not to sue.[2] It promises protection but does not grant any rights.

The OSP is limited to implementations to the extent that they conform to those specifications. This allows for conformance to be partial. So if an implementation follows the specification for some aspects, and deviates in other aspects, then the Covenant Not to Sue applies only to the implementation's aspects which follow the specification.[3]

  1. ^ "Microsoft Open Specification Promise". Microsoft. Retrieved 2007-11-02.
  2. ^ "Microsoft's Open Specification Promise Eases Web Services Patent Concerns". Retrieved 2015-04-18.
  3. ^ Richard Wilder (Associate General Counsel for Intellectual Property Policy at Microsoft) (2008-07-25). "The OSP and You". Port 25 (Microsoft's open source portal). Retrieved 2008-07-25. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)