RE: FAT and Microsoft patent?

["linux-os \(Dick Johnson\)" <linux-os@analogic.com>]

On Wed, 11 Jan 2006, Roger Heflin wrote:

>
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org
>> [mailto:linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org] On Behalf Of
>> linux-os (Dick Johnson)
>> Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2006 9:32 AM
>> To: Christopher Friesen
>> Cc: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org
>> Subject: Re: FAT and Microsoft patent?
>>
>>
>> On Wed, 11 Jan 2006, Christopher Friesen wrote:
>>
>>> According to various sources, the USPTO has ruled that Microsoft's
>>> patent on FAT is valid.
>>>
>>> Does this impact Linux?  Will we have to remove the filesystem?
>>>
>>> Chris
>>
>> You mean the expired patent circa 1980 for their first use of
>> this technology? This is 2006, 26 years later. Patents don't
>> run forever, you know. That's the reason why it has become
>> the 'universal' file- system, not because it's a good
>> file-system, but because it's now in the public domain due to
>> expiration.
>>
>> And, can you cite the 'various sources'. They seem to be like
>> spooks under the bridge, completely without merit.
>
> The patent upheld is for long filenames on a FAT filesystem, not
> for FAT in general.
>
> Not a major thing to go without.
>
> It would be nice it the original poster would have done 30 seconds
> more research before posting.
>
>                         Roger
>

Yes.

Cheers,
Dick Johnson
Penguin : Linux version 2.6.13.4 on an i686 machine (5589.71 BogoMips).
Warning : 98.36% of all statistics are fiction.
.

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