> It does not matter any more if there are still valid patents for exFAT.
Would you care to elaborate for why that is? Would anyone else with knowledge about the patent system and any possible risks imposed by it also like to do so?
Would you care to elaborate for why that is? Would anyone else with knowledge about the patent system and any possible risks imposed by it also like to do so?
IANAL - so there's likely some caveats (you probably can't just use the exFAT name unless certain qualifications are met, just like you can't use Firefox's trademarks willy-nilly), but that should be good enough for just about anyone. Including paranoid OSS peeps like me :)
0: https://cloudblogs.microsoft.com/opensource/2019/08/28/exfat...
I don't know how the release to Open Invention Network affects things, though.
No its inclusion in Linux was the result of a decision by Microsoft, not a granting of an open license. Any other implementation still has to apply for a license:
"For customers wanting only a patent license, you can contact us to learn more about the exFAT licensing program and request a pricing proposal."
To put it bluntly, if Microsoft's guarantees are good enough for Linus so as to merge the driver in the Linux mainline, they're good enough for me too.