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Microsoft FAT patents
Microsoft has a number of patents on how to deal with filename in their commonly used FAT filesystem. These patents have been issued in the USA, Germany, and surely a long list of other countries.
The FAT patents have the interesting property of being useful only for compatibility with the patent owner. The FAT patents are not otherwise useful; in fact the FAT filesystem is technically undesirable. Those who wish to make use of the patent are clearly seeking compatibility, not innovation or other useful properties.
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[edit] In the USA
In December 2003, Microsoft announced[1] licensing requirements of four patents for the FAT filesystem:
- US5,579,517 "The '517 patent"
- US5,758,352 "The '352 patent" (The EPO equivalent is EP0618550)
- U.S. Patent #5,745,902
- U.S. Patent #6,286,013
[edit] Timeline
- Autumn 2003: MS starts threatening people[2][3]
- September 2004: The '517 patent is rejected[4] thanks to the work of PubPat[5] and others.
- January 2006: The '517 patent is reinstated[6]
- January 2009: Microsoft uses its FAT patents against TomTom
[edit] In Europe
The patents granted by the European Patent Office are:
- EP0618550 - upheld in Germany, see below (equivalent to US5,758,352)
- ?
[edit] Upheld in Germany
- German appeal court upholds Microsoft FAT patent, The H, April 2010 (also: slashdot story)
- Federal Patent Court declares FAT patent of Microsoft null and void, The H, April 2007 (also: slashdot story)
- German original: WINDOWS - Dateiverwaltung beruht auf, patentfähiger Erfindung (English translations[?]: Google, bing translator)
- German original: Text of the appeal court decision (English translations[?]: Google, bing translator)
[edit] Related pages on en.swpat.org
- Microsoft
- Microsoft vs. TomTom - where MS forced TomTom to pay for patents, seemingly including their FAT patents
- Litigation
- Example software patents
[edit] External links
- How Linus Torvalds Helped Bust a Microsoft Patent, 27 Mar 2012, Wired
- PubPat: Microsoft FAT Patent (page out of date)
- Groklaw report on A patch to remove VFAT filename conversion from the Linux kernel,
- Microsoft's IP chief on TomTom, Linux and patents, techflash, Feb 2009
[edit] References
- ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20041229090400/http://www.microsoft.com/mscorp/ip/tech/fat.asp
- ↑ http://www.pubpat.org/Microsoft_517_Reexam_Filed.htm
- ↑ http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/12/05/1070351761346.html
- ↑ http://www.pubpat.org/assets/files/MicrosoftFAT/Reynolds_517_Rejected_040916.PDF
- ↑ http://www.pubpat.org/Microsoft_517_Rejected.htm
- ↑ http://news.cnet.com/Microsofts-file-system-patent-upheld/2100-1012_3-6025447.html
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