[ros-general] Microsoft wants royalties for use of FAT

[Mark IJbema]

On Thu, Dec 04, 2003 at 04:54:18PM -0600, Vizzini wrote:
> On Thu, 2003-12-04 at 16:03, Casper Hornstrup wrote:
> > http://www.microsoft.com/mscorp/ip/tech/fat.asp
> 
> sigh...
> 
> Looks pretty bad, actually.  We're going to have to think about this. 
> This patent really can't be licensed for use with a GPL'd operating
> system unless the fundamental terms are changed.  
> 
> CDs and DVDs would still be usable, and floppy disks might be if we
> don't implement any patented things (FAT existed in 1985, and all those
> patents are expired now).  
> 
> Things could get really sticky with digital cameras, mp3 players, etc...

Well, i think we're gonna face lots of these things, since we're
'copying' a OS of MS, which is patented in many more ways. FS is just a
minor one, since it's quite irrelevant to the working of the OS.

Mark