ribbon controls in delphi

Question

(sorry this question is not based on software but about legal issues )

I have used tms ribbon controls and ribbon controls came with Delphi 2009 in my project. i can remember the Delphi setup warned me about ribbon controls and said me to get license from microsoft. whats is the licences and can i distribute this application as a comercial application (sorry for posting this question here)

Answer 1

You can only use the "2007 Microsoft Office User Interface" (Ribbon Controls) if you license the Office UI.

For software vendors who wish to incorporate the 2007 Microsoft Office User Interface into their own products or for component vendors who wish to build Office UI components for use by other software vendors, we are offering a royalty-free license to use the Office UI subject to very few restrictions.

see http://msdn.microsoft.com/officeui

Answer 2

To add to the link provided by @splash:

Accepting that license basically means agreeing to stick to the Ribbon (Fluent Interface) guidelines as set out by Microsoft... (see link provided by splash). There are no restrictions on where / in what applications you use the Ribbon controls, or whether those applications are free, shareware, open source, closed commercial or whatever.

Update

As @The_Fox rightly mentions, there is a restriction to the type of application: you cannot use the Ribbon Controls in any application that competes with one of the Microsoft Office products.

Answer 3

Please also make sure you adhere to the Ribbon design guidelines, Microsoft take this very seriously, plus the guidelines are quite a good standard to follow when designing your ribbon. You can view the guidelines here: http://officeblogs.net/UI/Preview%202007%20Microsoft%20Office%20System%20UI%20Design%20Guidelines.pdf

Your Licensed UI must comply with the Design Guidelines. If Microsoft notifies you that the Design Guidelines have been updated or that you are not complying with the Design Guidelines, you will make the necessary changes to comply as soon as you reasonably can, but no later than your next product release that is 6 months or more from the date you receive notice.