I realize this may be old news but  in case anyone has missed it Microsoft have released a plug-in for some of their Office2007 products that allows Creative Commons licensing to be added into files.

From Microsoft’s site http://www.microsoft.com/mscorp/tc/scholarly_communication.mspx

“Creative Commons Add-in v1.0 for Microsoft Office

This add-in for Microsoft Office Word 2007, Office PowerPoint 2007, and Office Excel 2007 enables individuals to embed a Creative Commons license directly into their Microsoft Office documents. The add-in allows an author of a Microsoft Office document to choose a Creative Commons license from those available on the Creative Commons Web site (by using the Creative Commons Web service). The embedded license links directly to its online representation on the Creative Commons Web site while a machine-readable representation is stored in the Office Open XML document. By using Creative Commons licenses, you can express your intentions regarding how others may use your work.”

Time to stop dithering and add this to my copy of Office.

This is part of Microsoft’s broader engagement with the scholarly communication process. The page also mentions their developments with VREs, eJournal services, and a repository platform. It’ll be interesting to see how those efforts develop.