Windows Phone Thoughts: Microsoft's FAT Licensing Plans Challenged

A few months back, we reported that 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.

"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.

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