What might cause this cross version, & cross platform inability to edit PDF?

Question

Basic info: Our office is PC based using WIndows XP and Acrobat Pro 7.0 and I have created a simple PDF that is totally unrestricted to a book publisher. Latter is MAC based using X Pro and is able to open and move around our PDF, but is unable to use highlighter, comments, edit, etc. Publisher works with PDF files alot and claims that they have never had problems with any other submissions. The only "unusual" think I did in creating the PDF of a simple word doc is that in Acrobat Pro 7 I changed Initial View tab that File Title should display rather than the default file name; and in Properties filled in Title and Author fields. My hunch is that this simple change might be causing the symptoms being experienced.
While I am primarily looking for a solution, without trying to determine the cause it seems tougher to find solution other than trial-and-error.
Details: PDF does NOT have any interactive features and is 99% text with a few inserted JPG images. I realize in writing this there is another perhaps unusual aspect. Namely, we are still using MS Word 2003, AND we always make a copy of normal.dot, rename this to book_title.dot and have the word doc file for the book use that _____.dot so that in this way, the Styles that use and update are isolated to that particular book and its associated word.doc.  I mention this, but don't think this is the culprit.
The steps in the whole process have been:
1) Close word doc for the book.
2) In Acrobat Pro create PDF from word.doc file
3) Make changes to Initial View, and Properties
4) Save PDF using Pros "Smallest File Size" choice.
In our office, we have opened a copy of the PDF sent to publisher in Adobe Reader and all looks "normal." We have opened it on a stand alone laptop (not connected to our server) and with Acrobat Pro 7 we are able ourselves to use highlighter, comments, editing, etc.
This really has me stumped. To add potentially further challenge with "compatibility" our office and publisher are in USA. Publisher needs to add some comments to the PDF file and then it will be sent to several different people in Europe to use the PDF file to make a translation of the book, and we have not even tried that step yet.
Since our office is 7.0 and not X, am I correct that the latter still allows one to create PDF and have Initial View show pdf Title rather than pdf File Name?
Your thoughts/suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

@BillI I agree that it is puzzling. I think that @George has the answer and solution, unfortunately publisher will not look at things until this coming Tuesday so can not yet mark his post as "the correct answer" and be done with all of this craziness.
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After writing above, I tried to learn some basics about PDF/A and now have some additional ?s to understand and unravel this puzzle fully.
1) PDF/A is a newer "more robust" pdf standard, right? In creating PDF file in Acrobat Pro 7.0, is there actually an option to check box that you want the conversion to meet this standard? In creating the PDF that has been problematic for publisher to edit, I, as the author, did NOT intentionally create a PDF/A file.
I did embed fonts (which for this document were kept to Times) to increase compatibility.
I did NOT restrict the PDF file i.e. Printing, Commenting, etc. were allowed.
It was also created as a Tagged PDF
I believe it is true that the extension .pdf does NOT tell you whether a file is PDF/A. You need to look at the properties of the actual file, OR with more current versions some Adobe products there is a color bar that would let you know.
2) If @George has the solution, I am delighted but still has me puzzled. If I did NOT actually create a PDF/A file, could the publisher themselves have done this in their MAX Acrobat X software, and then locked themselves out from using it? Let me try to explain ...
A) I sent PDF file, that we ourselves are able to edit in Acrobat Pro 7.0 on a different workstation from what had created the file in the first place. However 7.0 does not have the user preference that @George refers to.
B) Publisher opens original PDF file and then does a SaveAs, so that they would preserve what I had sent as an original. Can they have their MAC Acrobat X setup with predefined job options that would automatically create a PDF/A file? If yes, then even if I as the creator had not made a PDF/A file, the publisher (downstream) had done this with their SaveAs step. Then thereafter because of the setting that @George points to, they had locked themselves out of editing things.
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I appreciate anyone who tries to add clarity to this. I think I had already mentioned in one of my posts, that solving this between us and Publisher in just the USA is only the first set of steps in this chain. The PDF file that publisher will add comments to, will then be sent to Europe to someone who is translating the book, and I have no idea of what operating system nor what version of Adobe they are using (and they might even be using Adobe).
Even if @George has solved the problem at the level of the Publisher, I expect that for the entire workflow that everything should be kept as a plain and simple PDF file, and have nothing in PDF/A "mode." For the current use we are not really trying to create a more archival storage of the content and appearance and so it seems that PDF/A has no advantage AND is creating some "compatibility" and usage problems.