Microsoft's FAT Licensing Plans Challenged

[Jonathon Watkins]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=15370' target='_blank'>http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=15370</a><br /><br /></div>A few months back, <a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=21545&start=0">we reported that </a>Microsoft are planning to charge manufacturers and users of flash memory card devices, for utilising the FAT filesystem. This obviously impact all Flash memory cards in, say, Pocket PCs and Smartphones. Now the Inquirer have a story up which says that this practise is being challenged.<br /><br />"A NOT FOR profit legal services organisation is applying to have Microsoft’s patent on the FAT file system revoked. The Public Patent Foundation (Pubpat) has applied to the US patients office to overturn Vole’s patent which was granted in November 26, 1996. Pubpat said the patent, which was not due to expire until 2013, was obvious and should have never been granted……It says that the patient was causing immeasurable injury to the public by serving as a tool to enlarge Microsoft’s monopoly while also preventing competition." I'm not sure if I feel immeasurably injured by Microsoft, (apart from my encounters with ActiveSync of course :wink: ), but it would be nice to avoid unnecessary media price increases if MS carry through with their plan.<br /><br />The last word belongs to the Inquirer: "Statistics show that 46 per cent of patents brought to trial in the US are dismissed as bogus, so it isn’t over until the FAT lady sings." :P

[Wiggster]

I'm not sure if I feel immeasurably injured by Microsoft

So you've been injured in a measurable way by Microsoft?

[dh]

The thing is, MS has been very successful and produced a lot of innovative products. They don't need to go to this level to make a few more bucks.
It looks as though they are also helping out those scumbags with the fake Linux patent claims.
C'mon MS, you don't have to do this, concentrate on getting the new version of Windows finished for goodness sake.

[lapchinj]

I would hope that this announcement is just a joke but knowing MS it’s probably true :roll: . Soon they’ll charge for the stylist. Or how about charging for every character typed or printed using the Microsoft Sans Serif font? Ford could even get in on this game and charge for the button that opens the glove compartment. There is no end to this type nickel and diming people.

Yeah, Yeah, they have the right since it’s their creation but don’t get me hooked on something and then when I have a large investment in the platform start nickel and diming me. Tell me up front that these are the items that you’re charging for.

... I'm not sure if I feel immeasurably injured by Microsoft...
This type of arrogance and behavior does harm people indirectly since the user has to eat the charge since there is no way to back out of being “indirectly” charged for this item. Someone does not have to be hit over the head to be hurt by an act of arrogance or some misaligned public relations.

Jeff- :soapbox:

[Jonathon Watkins]

I would hope that this announcement is just a joke but knowing MS it’s probably true :roll:

Depends what you mean by 'this announcement'. MS is trying to charge for the licencing of FAT - that's a fact we reported on a while ago. The announcement today is that folks are challenging it legally.


... I'm not sure if I feel immeasurably injured by Microsoft...

This type of arrogance and behavior does harm people indirectly..

Yes indeed, I was being facetious. :)

[richard_rabbat]

There are many open-source filesystems that could replace FAT/FAT32.
ext2, ext3, IBM's JFS, etc. could replace FAT and make the cards more reliable.
I haven't read the patent, and I'm not sure what the claims are, but the FAT filesystem is based on ideas built upon the old venerable CP/M and the suit is probably brought to court for that reason, since the company that brought the complaint is claiming the obviousness of the patent claims.

[chunkymonkey75]

This kind of arrogance may one day be the end of Microsoft's reign. I know that Microsoft is a very large company with no debt and 50 billion in the bank. 20 years from now and that can all change. No one thought at the time GM, IBM, and even Apple would be where they are now. They were the "Microsoft" of their time. Their arrogance though helped put them down from their pedestal.

Microsoft should let it go with trying to get money from their FAT file system patent. It's going to be one more reason for people to hate them.

[lapchinj]

...Depends what you mean by 'this announcement'. MS is trying to charge for the licencing of FAT - that's a fact we reported on a while ago. The announcement today is that folks are challenging it legally....
Yeah, I was also being facetious by calling this an announcement but until I read into this matter further I really didn't realize how far it went. I didn't think that it had gone further than Miscrosoft just testing the waters and giving it a test shot to see what the the fall-out might be. I guess I was taken a bit by suprise ( 8O ) that it had already gone the legal route.

Jeff-

[Steven Cedrone]

What bothers me the most about this: It seems like an underhanded tactic. Give the "product" (in this case FAT) away for years, until the industry is dependant upon it, then try to force a licensing fee. Seems like Microsoft is acting like a drug dealer: Give the "customers" a few free samples, then they have no choice but to continue to buy from you...

Just my .02

Steve

[Jonathan1]

What bothers me the most about this: It seems like an underhanded tactic.

Yep and Microsoft has NEVER been know for that. :roll:

What will it take for people to realize just how much of a scumball company Microsoft is? What? Do they have to come out with a corp wide policy of robbing old ladies purses for people to wake up? (And even then you'd have people justifying it.
The people at Microsoft are cool but as a collective whole they suck. :|

[Rob Alexander]

What bothers me the most about this: It seems like an underhanded tactic.

Yep and Microsoft has NEVER been know for that. :roll:

I wouldn't put anything past MS, but they're hardly the only ones playing this game. How about .gif files? MP3? Remember the old .arc compression? Everyone shifted en mass to .zip when they tried this. This is as old as the art of selling and practiced by unsavory companies the world over.

[hotweiss]

Just sell the cards unformatted and then there will be no fee to pay. Format them in Windows, in your camera, PPC, etc...

[PJE]

What bothers me the most about this: It seems like an underhanded tactic. Give the "product" (in this case FAT) away for years, until the industry is dependant upon it, then try to force a licensing fee. Seems like Microsoft is acting like a drug dealer: Give the "customers" a few free samples, then they have no choice but to continue to buy from you...

Just my .02

Steve

My thoughts exactly. If they charged from the start an open alternative format would have been developed and Microsoft would have struggled to keep the industry standard in certain areas (such as cameras). Now everyones locked into the format due to many years of unrestricted access to the format I feel it unethical to start charging for it.

[joelevi]

Just sell the cards unformatted and then there will be no fee to pay. Format them in Windows, in your camera, PPC, etc...

I second that!

Unfortunately, the camera (or insert your device here) would have to be able to READ and WRITE to the FAT formatted media, which would have to be licensed. However, shipping cards unformatted would get rid of the licensing fee on one end of the technology, just not on the other.

What I'm afraid this will do is lead to proprietary formats which will further fragment the market. We already have far too many flash storage solutions (compact flash type 1, CF type 2, Microdrive (which is considered separate from CF Type 2), Sony has 3(?) Memory Stick formats now, SD, MMC, XD, SmartMedia). Now imagine four different file formats that could be used on these 10 card formats, you're up to forty combinations!

Maybe Microsoft will swoop in and "save" us with a new Card form factor and underlying format which it will then offer as a "salvation" from all the confusing mess of the many cards and many formats out there. Because it'll be easier for the customer...

Mark my words, look for this in under 5 years. Or call me crazy... Just give me back my tin-foil hat!! ;)

[Tom W.M.]

So is McDonald's! (http://www.slashnot.com/article.php3?story_id=396) :lol:

But seriously, this isn't a good move on Microsoft's part. Things like this only serve to reduce people's trust in Microsoft even more.