Third-party Ribbon component vs. Microsoft Ribbon UI License?

Question

Hello, I'm just creating a multiplatform e-mail client in Java, and I want to use Ribbon UI using Flamingo Ribbon Component (you can see WebStart demo here: https://substance-flamingo.dev.java.net/webstart/testRibbon.jnlp). However, I noticed that Microsoft have some license on their Ribbon UI. Can anybody please tell me if is it 'legal' to use this third-party components? I just want to avoid the scenario that I'll finish the application, and Microsoft say "sorry, but you're violating our license" and I'll have to rewrite it without Ribbon.

Thanks for your tips and excuse my mistakes in English, I'm not native ;-) Vaclav Svejcar

Answer 1

I think Wikipedia makes a fair argument that there exists prior art that make the "ribbon" UI unpatentable. Without a patent, they have nothing.

Answer 2

Can anybody please tell me if is it 'legal' to use this third-party components?

Yes it is. Several companies already use it. The Flamingo component you selected is really nice. If you'll have a public application or at least some screenshots with it, I'm sure Kirill will be glad to hear about it.