I’ve gotten a colossal headache trying to make sense of Microsoft’s NDA policy for Office 12. (Or, as ‘Softies refer to it, Office “12” – the 12 is actually just a code name, you see, not a version number.)
Scoble posted (and I repeated) what appeared to be a definitive answer the other day, but now he’s backtracked:
It turns out that this isn’t quite the case. There are different NDAs given to different groups. Sorry for the confusion, but I need to be a little bit clearer about the Office 12 beta program. If you’re an MVP, in the Technical Beta or on the TAP program you’ll need to comply with the EULA of Beta1, which maintains confidentiality except in cases where the information is already public. If you’re a blogger and want to talk about Office 12 and you’re already on the beta, we recommend you learn what’s public and what’s not BEFORE you disclose anything new.
I’ve had this confirmed by three sources now, so I’m reasonably confident that this is the final answer.
Bottom line:
- If you are recognized by Microsoft as a member of the press, you can write or blog about the client applications in Office 12 Beta 1. This is true even if you are a member of the beta test program; however, any additional information you learn as a result of your participation in the beta program remains confidential.
- If you are a member of the beta test program and you are not recognized by Microsoft as a member of the press, then you continue to be bound by the restrictions in the end user license agreement (EULA).
This entire episode is a case study in how to communicate poorly. I really hope someone at Microsoft looks at what happened here and makes some changes.
Ed Bott 
I have plenty of NDA questions that get different answers depending who I ask!
When a beta hits TechNET Plus or MSDN, is it no longer under NDA?
If a build is on TechNET/MSDN but I have a newer build, are old build bits NDA free, but the new bits still under NDA?
The more I look into the various NDAs I am under, the more I feel like I need a lawyer 🙂
What a mess …
While it might be slightly difficult to learn what’s already public, is there much doubt that essentially everything about the product IS public — and much of it by the prolific MS bloggers themselves? This isn’t Apple we’re talking about here; MS is practically a completely open door these days. In fact, I bet it would be pretty hard to write about any feature or aspect of Beta 1 that hasn’t already been discussed.
So the question – how to become “recognized by Microsoft as a member of the press”? Anybody knows?
What a mess. I’m so glad I’ve held off blogging about the Office beta, aside from the occasional link to one of the MS bloggers. I guess we’ll just have to wait until Beta 2 to do any substantial original coverage.
I received a similar response from Microsoft when trying to decipher things from a TAP perspective … trying to probe for more info but here is what I have for now …
“You may only discuss items that have been publicly disclosed and not items still under NDA. Beta 2 is the public open eval program where NDA for Beta 2 gets lifted”