James Fee
10-02-2004, 01:00 AM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://arstechnica.com/news/posts/20040930-4259.html' target='_blank'>http://arstechnica.com/news/posts/20040930-4259.html</a><br /><br /></div>"<i>The US Patent and Trademark Office has <a href="http://www.pubpat.org/Microsoft_517_Rejected.htm">rejected</a> Microsoft's patent covering the venerable FAT file system. In its application, Microsoft claimed rights to the FAT file systemm dating to 1976 and was granted a patent in 1996. While long since superceded by NTFS in Windows machines, the format is widely used in flash memory cards and other removable storage devices. In the fall of 2003, Microsoft began demanding royalties from some manufacturers of devices using FAT.</i>"<br /><br />Well those of us with digital cameras won't have to worry about the prices going up due to paying royalties to Microsoft. I can only hope that Microsoft will accept the ruling and we can all move on.