The USPTO (US Patent and Trade Office) decision to uphold Microsoft's patents on the FAT (file allocation table) filesystem will likely be challenged, writes Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols at Linux-Watch. The patents could theoretically allow Microsoft to extract royalties from users of Linux and other software capable of reading and writing FAT-based filesystems.

Worse, the GPL license under which much free software is licensed is not compatible with royalty-bearing, patented software. Thus, GPL-licensed software capable of reading and writing to FAT filesystems could be forced to choose between removing FAT support or adopting a different license.

FAT has become the lingua franca of essentially every type of removable storage device used by consumers, from floppy disks to USB drives to digital camera and music player memory cards. Without support for such devices, Linux could face dire challenges in the desktop and consumer electronics fields. Free software programs such as Samba, which allows Linux computers to interact with Windows networks, could also face problems.

Microsoft began offering FAT licenses in December of 2003, a subtle hint that it was considering a FAT patent enforcement plan. Shortly thereafter, PUBPAT took an interest in the case, attempting to invalidate the patents by demonstrating their alleged basis in prior art. PUBPAT, or the Public Patent Foundation, describes itself as a non-profit legal services organization that aims to represent the public's interests against “the harms caused by the patent system, particularly the harms caused by wrongly issued patents and unsound patent policy.”

Partly as a result of PUBPATs efforts, the USPTO rejected Microsoft's application to renew two of its FAT patents last October. However, Microsoft subsequently appealed, and won reaffirmation yesterday.

According to Vaughan-Nichols, PUBPAT's executive director, Dan Ravicher, remains optimistic that Microsoft's victory yesterday won't be the last word in the case. However, others he interviewed, including FSF general counsellor Eben Moglen and Florian Mueller, founder of NoSoftwarePatents.com, appear less sure.

Read the full Linux-Watch story here.

 
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