Microsoft has released an tool for copyright licensing that enables the easy addition of Creative Commons licensing information for works in popular Microsoft Office applications. The software is available free of charge at Microsoft Office Online and will enable the 400 million users of Microsoft Office Word, Microsoft Office Excel, and Microsoft Office PowerPoint to easily select Creative Commons licenses from directly within the application they are working in.

The first document to be CC-licensed using this tool is the text of Brazilian Minister of Culture Gilberto Gil’s iSummit keynote speech in English and Portugese.

See the press release here and at Microsoft and early press at CNET and TechChrunch.