From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org via listexpand id S1751303AbWAKPjD (ORCPT ); Wed, 11 Jan 2006 10:39:03 -0500 Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org id S1751482AbWAKPjC (ORCPT ); Wed, 11 Jan 2006 10:39:02 -0500 Received: from ns.firmix.at ([62.141.48.66]:56290 "EHLO ns.firmix.at") by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id S1751303AbWAKPjB (ORCPT ); Wed, 11 Jan 2006 10:39:01 -0500 Subject: Re: FAT and Microsoft patent? From: Bernd Petrovitsch To: Christopher Friesen Cc: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org In-Reply-To: <43C51D65.3030309@nortel.com> References: <43C51D65.3030309@nortel.com> Content-Type: text/plain Organization: Firmix Software GmbH Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2006 16:35:33 +0100 Message-Id: <1136993733.6547.168.camel@tara.firmix.at> Mime-Version: 1.0 X-Mailer: Evolution 2.2.3 (2.2.3-2.fc4) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org X-Mailing-List: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org On Wed, 2006-01-11 at 08:59 -0600, Christopher Friesen wrote: > According to various sources, the USPTO has ruled that Microsoft's > patent on FAT is valid. "ruled"? Isn't that the job of courts (and of course not of the executive part of a government)? And yes, there is another interpretation possible - justice is no longer separated from the executive part. And it is the job of the USPTO to grant patents and not to hinder them. > Does this impact Linux? Will we have to remove the filesystem? There are lots of patents in the USPTO. Have fun removing everything which is claimed by some granted patent. It boils down or `rm -rf world`. Bernd, NAL -- Firmix Software GmbH http://www.firmix.at/ mobil: +43 664 4416156 fax: +43 1 7890849-55 Embedded Linux Development and Services