Office UI Licensing

Overview

The Office UI licensing program is designed for software developers who wish to implement the Office UI as a software component and/or incorporate the Office UI into their own applications.

A license to use the Microsoft-claimed intellectual property in the Office UI is required when the software developer does not use one of the Microsoft-provided implementations of the UI that carries a separate license (currently either the Microsoft Windows 7 API implementation or the Microsoft WPF implementation in the .NET framework 4).

A license is also required when the software developer wishes to use elements of the Office 2010 UI that are not provided by those other implementations.

How to Implement the Office UI in Your Own Software

There are currently three primary categories of ways for a software developer to implement the Office UI in their own application or component.

		Use the Microsoft Windows 7 Scenic Ribbon implementation Details about the Scenic Ribbon can be found on the MSDN Code Gallery. Use of the Scenic Ribbon implementation is governed by the Microsoft Windows SDK EULA and does not require a developer to accept the terms of the Office UI license on this site.
		Use the Microsoft Ribbon for WPF Implementation Details about the Microsoft Ribbon for WPF Implementation (delivered via MS Downloads) can be found in the MSDN Library. Use of the Microsoft Ribbon for WPF is governed by a EULA similar to that of the .NET Framework. This release does not require developers to accept the terms of the Office UI license on this site.
		Use Microsoft Foundation Classes (MFC) Ribbon, build it yourself, or use a third-party component All of the options in this category require acceptance of the Office UI License terms on this site. The additional benefits of this category include the ability to implement across more platforms, the ability to use elements of the Office 2010 UI that are not incorporated in the other implementations, and the ability to use a third-party component that may have other benefits to you as a developer. If you find this category appropriate you should read the materials on this site, specifically the Office UI License and the Office UI Design Guidelines. You may search the web for component vendors by searching for terms like “Microsoft Ribbon component vendor.”

Evaluate Prior to Licensing the Office UI

Accept the License Terms for the Office UI