NewsFactor Network | Microsoft RSS Patents Anger Critics

Found this via Law Librarian Blog. If MS were to start charging bloggers for RSS that means libraries that implement RSS for their catalogs could potentially be charged as well.
NewsFactor Network | Microsoft RSS Patents Anger Critics:

...Microsoft has managed to rankle its critics again, this time over a set of patent applications that cover one of blogging's key technologies -- a technology that Microsoft did not invent.

RSS, or Really Simple Syndication, lets bloggers, owners of news sites, and other content providers notify their readers when new content is published. Last June, Microsoft applied for patents on certain RSS features just days before the Redmond-based company announced that it would build RSS into version 7 of the Internet Explorer Web browser, which has since been released.

Although the patents themselves have yet to be granted, the patent applications were published last week by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as part of the usual process. The news has been spreading quickly throughout the blogosphere and has prompted considerable squalls from critics who fear an aggressive Microsoft may try to charge bloggers for using RSS...