[GEM Development] Digital site at Maxframe

[Davey Brain]

Ben A L Jemmett wrote thusly:
>>>It pertains only to hardware devices like flash memory cards and USB flash
>>>drives.
>>
>>For now...establish precedent in the courts, well then??
> 
> 
> Would make no difference; if the scope of the patent is limited to flash
> devices etc. it can't be applied to anything else.  If it went to court, the
> would-be licensee just has to show that the patent doesn't cover their use.
> 
> Regards,
> Ben A L Jemmett.
> (http://web.ukonline.co.uk/ben.jemmett/, http://www.deltasoft.com/)

OK, I'm not a patent attorney but the patents do not seem to be limited 
to hardware devices, the patents appear to be for the VFAT (long file 
name) extensions to FAT and thus could be applied to any use of VFAT. It 
is only being applied to hardware devices at this time. It is hard to 
tell how Microsoft might choose to use the patents in the future.

Funny that Microsoft would wait so long to patent any part of FAT (VFAT 
patents issued in 1996) and then wait even longer to choose to apply 
these patents (end of 2003, almost 8 years); have you ever taken a look 
at "submarine patents" (patents whose issuance inventors intentionally 
delay for many years only to surface into a mature industry)? From 
<http://www.duanemorris.com/publications/pub70.html>: "Early publication 
is intended to address the "submarine patent" problem. Prior to 1995, 
inventors were able to manipulate the patent system to keep patent 
applications pending for years (in some instances, decades) in the PTO, 
while the covered technology gained wide market acceptance. Upon issue, 
these submarine patents "surfaced" and were asserted against businesses 
that had been lulled for years into investing in the later patented 
technology."

As far as basic FAT, it was copyrighted by Seattle Computer Products for 
QDOS. After being purchased my Microsoft and revised by IBM it was 
copyrighted by both IBM and Microsoft in 1981. The FAT FS was never 
patented by anyone, it was only copyrighted and that applies only the 
actual DOS not the FAT FS concept. Hence the legality of DR-DOS and 
other variations.

I feel I've paid my FAT tax many times over already as I've got many 
versions of PC-DOS, MS-DOS and even DR-DOS as well as 9 versions of OS/2 
with FAT12/16 built-in and over 10 versions of Windows, including at 
least 5 versions containing VFAT. I don't want to have to pay for it again!
-- 
Davey Brain
dsbrain at NOSPAM!neosplice.com or
dsbrain2001 at yahoo.NOSPAM!com

"Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth" - John F. 
Kennedy

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