2004-07-29 US USPTO agrees to reexamine MS FAT patent

--> [ Pubpat | Microsoft | See also: MS FAT Patents ]

News & Chronology

• 2006-01-26 Microsoft's file system patent upheld

• 2004-11-11 Economist: Microsoft wants money for its File System: Interoperability in Danger

• 2004-07-29 US media report -- Pubpat representative says what matters is to make sure that only novel ideas are patented, no need to ban swpat altogether

• 2003-12-09 US MS FAT licensing program

Outline

• Public Patent Foundation achieved a major success by getting the USPTO to agree to reexamine the Microsoft FAT patents.
• This is unusual, given that the FAT patents are from the 1980s
• This does not necessarily mean that the USPTO believes that Pubpat's prior art is very strong, but it could mean that.
• Pubpat representatives replied evasively about his stand on whether software patentability is compatible with the goal of "sound patent policy", which Pubpat endorses