On December 22, 2009, a United States court of appeals ruled that Microsoft must stop selling versions of Microsoft Word (including Microsoft Office suites) that contain certain functionality that was ruled to infringe on a United States patent.

Brief History:

When Microsoft released the Office 2007 product line, they updated the code base to utilize XML as a more efficient and open standard (.docx, .pptx, .xlsx, etc).  However, at the same time, they also embedded certain “Custom XML Markups” that seem to have previously been patented by another person or company.  Therefore, they have to remove the patented code.

What this means:

Any and all licenses for Microsoft Office 2007 and Microsoft Word 2007 that are purchased after January 11, 2010 must use updated media or must be patched.

Reparations:

Thankfully, Microsoft has made this easy for us all by providing a simple update that will be located at the Microsoft Download Center and will be available before January 11, 2010.  We can use this to update current media we possess or will possess (media ordered tomorrow has probably been sitting on shelves in a warehouse for months if not longer).  The other alternative will be to download a new image of the programs (ISOs) from your MSDN, Volume Licensing, or Open License sites.

If you need assistance or have further questions, please comment below.