Can FAT patch avoid Microsoft lawsuits?
Andrew Tridgell has published a patch that could make the Linux implementation of the FAT filesystem impervious to Microsoft patent claims of the kind that forced a settlement from TomTom. The patch alters the VFAT code so that it does not generate both short and long filenames, says Tridgell.
Better to fight than switch?
After the TomTom settlement, the Linux Foundation joined the Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC), the Open Invention Network (OIN), and many others in arguing that the Microsoft patents were invalid. However, LF executive director Jim Zemlin also said his organization would help companies excise the Microsoft FAT filesystem from their systems to avoid the fate of TomTom, and that the industry should look for alternatives to FAT. The Tridgell patch may well save the industry from spending the time and money to develop and implement an alternative, or at least give it some breathing room while it does.
Meanwhile, the Linux community is pushing forward in attempts to have the patents overturned.
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