[Am-info] FAT -- Microsoft's patent questioned

[Gene Gaines]

From: http://www.internetnews.com/ent-news/article.php/3367061

Internet News

June 11, 2004
Microsoft Patent in Review
By Susan Kuchinskas

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) granted a
request by the Public Patent Foundation (PUBPAT) to review one
of Microsoft's many patents, the organization said today.

Last week, PUBPAT asked the USPTO to review Microsoft's patent
on the FAT file system, a storage format used for exchanging
media between computers and digital devices. Microsoft describes
FAT as "the ubiquitous format used for interchange of media
between computers, and, since the advent of inexpensive,
removable flash memory, also between digital devices."

PUBPAT is a non-profit that fights what it considers wrongly
issued patents. In requesting the re-examination, the
organization presented four examples of prior art -- other
patents or publications that show that someone else thought of
or created something similar. PUBPAT's four examples of prior
art include U.S. patents dating back to 1992.

In its request to the USPTO, PUBPAT said upholding the patent
would cause significant public harm, and "the 517 patent stands
as a potential impediment to the development and use of free
software because free software users are denied the ability to
interchange media with machines or devices running Microsoft
owned or licensed software."

The Patent Office noted that it wouldn't consider those issues,
because they're not grounds on which to grant a reexamination.

"Microsoft is using its control over the interchange of digital
media to aid its ongoing effort to deter competition," the
filing claimed.

Nevertheless, the Patent Office found that PUBPAT's request
raised "a substantial new question of patentability" regarding
every claim of the patent.

Microsoft has until August 4 to respond to the USPTO. Then,
PUBPAT will have the opportunity to respond in turn. After
opening statements, if any, the Patent Office will determine
whether the patent is indeed invalid in light of the evidence
presented. According to PUBPAT, such third-party requests for
reexamination are successful in having the subject patent either
narrowed or completely revoked roughly 70 percent of the time.

However, that's only the beginning of the process. If the patent
were revoked, Microsoft could appeal in the U.S. Courts, and
take the case to the Supreme Court.

Microsoft executives were not available for comment about the
FAT patent. But the company is interested in licensing its
intellectual property, and, in December, it announced that it
would expand the amount of intellectual property offered for
license. The first license offerings were for its ClearType
technology and the FAT file system "under fair and reasonable
terms."

The recent publication of another Microsoft patent led to fears
that Redmond had gotten a lock on double-clicking. Patent No.
6,727,830 covers "a method and system... for extending the
functionality of application buttons on a limited resource
computing device."

Most experts agreed that the patent was limited to button
controls on Microsoft's handheld PocketPCs.

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For the Public Patent Foundation (PUBPAT) story on challenging
the Microsoft patent, see:

http://www.pubpat.org/Microsoft_517_Reexam.htm



Gene Gaines
gene.gaines@gainesgroup.com
Sterling, Virginia