Posted on 10/06/2005 8:45:52 AM PDT by ShadowAce
The U.S. Patent Office has rejected two Microsoft patents over the FAT file format, but the software maker said Wednesday that it's not ready to give up its battle to protect its widely used method for storing data.
The patent office delivered its ruling late last month but made it public this week. With one of the patents, the decision is what's considered a final rejection, while with another it's considered nonfinal. In both cases, Microsoft has the ability to pursue its claims further.
The rejections come after a re-examination of the patents was sought by the Public Patent Foundation, which argued that they were invalid because there was "prior art," that is, evidence that others had done similar work before Microsoft's patent application. A U.S. Patent Office examiner issued a preliminary rejection of one Microsoft patent in September 2004.
Though developed for Windows, the FAT format has become a common means of storing files on all manner of computers, as well as on removable flash memory cards used in digital cameras and other devices. It is also used by the open-source Samba software that lets Linux and Unix computers exchange data with Windows computers, and by Linux itself to read and write files on Windows hard drives.
There has been concern that if the FAT patents are upheld, Microsoft may claim that Linux infringes on Microsoft technology and will seek a royalty. Any monetary compensation could threaten the operating system, which under General Public License (GPL) terms may not be distributed if it contains patented technology that requires royalty payments.
A Microsoft representative said Wednesday that the company considers the latest rejections somewhat of a victory because the examiners have rejected the prior-art claims. Microsoft said the latest rejections are centered on how the inventor of the patents is listed.
"None of the prior art submitted by the Public Patent Foundation stood up under examination," Microsoft Director of Business Development David Kaefer said in a statement. "The issues that have come up in these re-examinations have nothing to do with (non-Microsoft) prior art. Instead, the issues involve a question over whom--at Microsoft--should be properly listed as an inventor."
A Public Patent Foundation representative was not immediately available for comment.
Microsoft announced plans to license the FAT format in December 2003, as part of a stepped-up intellectual-property licensing push. It announced at the time that flash memory seller Lexar Media was taking a license for its FAT format technology.
That's not fair. If you compare MS to Hillary and Teddy I have no choice but to agree with you that MS is evil and you know it! That's playing dirty. =)
Microsoft gave their source code to the government of the PRC. You know, the very same source code that they refuse to let Americans see.
They howled that revealing the inner workings of their OS would be a security liablity when the DOJ wanted to see inside of it. Then they gave to the Chicoms.
Or did you forget that?
So is trying to sell drugs to little kids.
Business does not mean something is not evil. I do agree with you that this fails the 'evil' test in the biblical sense but it is most defiantly wrong!
Sell it on eBay.
You can get a great price if you package it with the official MCSE kneepads.
One day they'll be quite rare, like my "Visicalc Forever" tie tac.
"Well at least you had the courtesy to capitalize "turd". Thanks!"
I wouldn't want to be disrespectful.
95% of Office users don't need the most recent edition or even the third most recent edition. Microsoft main field of innovation is in EULA and clamping down on pirates. Microsoft boosted it's bottom line immensely by making WinXP very difficult (but not impossible) to install on more than one machine for a home user while it was easy on all Windows prior to that. For a home or small business user. A business/corporate user who pirated Win 98 would be in trouble too if detected.
I hear the latest editions of Office are very hard to install on more than one computer
Let 'em have it for free for a while. Once they're hooked you'll have a customer for life.
China would represent billions of $$$ in sales revenue if MS can get a dominant share of that market. If I remember correctly they gave them specific pieces of the code to check for potential security concerns, not the whole bundle.
I do understand what point you are making, and you are correct in you assessment. I just would not say that the motives are "evil".
LOL!! Glad I'm not an MCSE!
Isn't that what some distributors of linux are doing? RedHat immediately comes to mind.
That is evil. MS doesn't compare.
As an MCSE, and an MCDBA I can tell you I have no knee pads ;)
Okay, scummy seems to fit. But in the end it all comes down to capitalism. Very few major companies are 100% "scum" free. MS isn't the only one.
I would say finding an ethical company is hard, scummy is a grade or two lower and while there is company for MS there its not most companies..
Kinda goes along with the whole pattern: Gates buying DOS and patenting it, Lattice C (Visual C++), Spyglass, Vermeer (FrontPage) and WebTV (among others)...
And, if something poses a threat to M$, threaten to damage the competition by contracts or by releasing competing products--i.e. Netscape and Citrix.
To add to the MS irony, it's been mentioned before on these threads that Windows contains code licensed by the Regents of the University of California--I believe it's in "ftp.exe" about 3/4 down...
Finally, I must ask: is it becoming clear? Right or wrong, MS clearly sees Linux as its biggest roadblock to maintaining its monopoly, and is going to take it out at just about all costs. And in my opinion, I believe Linux is going to see the same playbook that MS used in their attempts to kill Netscape, Spyglass, and Citrix with.
But Linux IMO has several aces in the hole over Windows, and thus I believe that Linux will weather, if not grow stronger in the end. Education is key--being able to show the Joe Sixpack users as well as the IT execs that Linux is the clear choice in servers and desktops.
I kept mine. It's framed on the wall under my other now worthless credential - Compaq Certified Technician
Imagine if the Corsair were revived and the firmware ROMs were written by Microsoft...
The thing would be a four-wheeled genocide machine.
So....you're a midget or your rep is very very tall.
*ducks*
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