3 ms·

BTW, when will those patents expire? Shouldn't be long I guess..

techrat 12y ago
The issue is exFAT and Fat32 long filenames. exFAT was introduced with Windows Vista and is what 32GB+ flash media tends to be formatted in. It'll be a long time before this one expires.
- overcertified 12y ago
  There are at least 4 patents involved, extensible file system, name hash lookup, transactional fat, contiguous file allocation. If you look at overcertified'a recent slideshare presentations on exFAT, including the recent HTCIA 2014 exFAT presentation, the patent numbers are listed on the ending reference slides.
- caf 12y ago
  Does anyone know exactly what innovation(s) in exFAT is/are newly patented? Which patents read on it?
  - techrat 12y ago
    From wiki: >exFAT is a proprietary file system. However exFAT is protected under US patent law, and its initial application was issued on 10 July 2009 under the application number US2008168029.[7] On 12 November 2013, the patent was granted by the US patent office under US8583708. Patent length is 20 years, so we're looking at least until 2033 before exFat is expired and (safely) freely usable.
    - cowsandmilk 12y ago
      > Patent length is 20 years, so we're looking at least until 2033 before exFat is expired and (safely) freely usable. Nope. For the dates this was filed, length goes from filing date. Depending on how dangerous you want to be, you could argue it expires anywhere from 2024-2028.
- danmaz74 12y ago
  Thanks for the info - even if this really sucks!
radicalbyte 12y ago
AFAIK US patents expire 20 years after filing, which means that a number of them will soon be expired. http://www.google.com/patents/US5579517 http://www.google.com/patents/US5579517 expires next year. http://www.google.com/patents/US5758352 http://www.google.com/patents/US5758352 expires in 2016. http://www.google.com/patents/US6286013 http://www.google.com/patents/US6286013 expires in 2017. There is one more, which looked to have already expired: http://www.google.com/patents/US5745902 http://www.google.com/patents/US5745902
- pwg 12y ago
  5579517 is pre-gatt, so it is 17 years from date of grant, which for it is Nov 26, 1996 + 17 years => Nov 26, 2013 - so already expired. 5758352 is post-gatt, so it is 20 years from earliest priority date, the earliest priority date is Apr. 1, 1993 + 20 years = Apr. 1, 2013 - so also already expired (unless it has any term extension). 6286013 is also post-gatt, also with a priority date of Apr. 1, 1993 + 20 years = Apr. 1, 2013 - so also already expired (unless it has any term extension). 5745902 is pre-gatt, it patented Apr. 28, 1998 and gets 17 years from that date, so Apr. 28, 1998 + 17 years => Apr. 28, 2015 - it expires in about six months.

The issue is exFAT and Fat32 long filenames. exFAT was introduced with Windows Vista and is what 32GB+ flash media tends to be formatted in. It'll be a long time before this one expires.

overcertified 12y ago
There are at least 4 patents involved, extensible file system, name hash lookup, transactional fat, contiguous file allocation. If you look at overcertified'a recent slideshare presentations on exFAT, including the recent HTCIA 2014 exFAT presentation, the patent numbers are listed on the ending reference slides.
caf 12y ago
Does anyone know exactly what innovation(s) in exFAT is/are newly patented? Which patents read on it?
- techrat 12y ago
  From wiki: >exFAT is a proprietary file system. However exFAT is protected under US patent law, and its initial application was issued on 10 July 2009 under the application number US2008168029.[7] On 12 November 2013, the patent was granted by the US patent office under US8583708. Patent length is 20 years, so we're looking at least until 2033 before exFat is expired and (safely) freely usable.
  - cowsandmilk 12y ago
    > Patent length is 20 years, so we're looking at least until 2033 before exFat is expired and (safely) freely usable. Nope. For the dates this was filed, length goes from filing date. Depending on how dangerous you want to be, you could argue it expires anywhere from 2024-2028.
danmaz74 12y ago
Thanks for the info - even if this really sucks!

radicalbyte 12y ago

AFAIK US patents expire 20 years after filing, which means that a number of them will soon be expired. http://www.google.com/patents/US5579517 http://www.google.com/patents/US5579517 expires next year. http://www.google.com/patents/US5758352 http://www.google.com/patents/US5758352 expires in 2016. http://www.google.com/patents/US6286013 http://www.google.com/patents/US6286013 expires in 2017. There is one more, which looked to have already expired: http://www.google.com/patents/US5745902 http://www.google.com/patents/US5745902

pwg 12y ago
5579517 is pre-gatt, so it is 17 years from date of grant, which for it is Nov 26, 1996 + 17 years => Nov 26, 2013 - so already expired. 5758352 is post-gatt, so it is 20 years from earliest priority date, the earliest priority date is Apr. 1, 1993 + 20 years = Apr. 1, 2013 - so also already expired (unless it has any term extension). 6286013 is also post-gatt, also with a priority date of Apr. 1, 1993 + 20 years = Apr. 1, 2013 - so also already expired (unless it has any term extension). 5745902 is pre-gatt, it patented Apr. 28, 1998 and gets 17 years from that date, so Apr. 28, 1998 + 17 years => Apr. 28, 2015 - it expires in about six months.