[Tfug] Looks like Microsoft is really getting greedy.

[Keith Davey]

That is true, but most companies renew there patents yearly.  Depending on when the last year that MS submited there last patent update they could.hold these royalties for some time.

-----Original Message-----
From: erich <erich at dakotacom.net>
Sent: Dec 13, 2003 9:49 AM
To: Tucson Free Unix Group <tfug at tfug.org>
Subject: Re: [Tfug] Looks like Microsoft is really getting greedy.

Guys,
      Don't forget that patent rights expire after 17 years. So
I could be hard to charge royalties.

                                              Cheers,
                                              Erich



Bob O'Connell wrote:

>Saw this on a Digital Camera mailing list.
>
>-------------------------------------------------------------------
>Microsoft's FAT charges                                  Thu, 4 Dec
>
>Microsoft will soon be charging manufacturers of flash memory card
>devices and those which use them $0.25 per unit or up to $250,000
>to use the FAT filesystem. For those who are unaware the FAT file
>system was developed by Microsoft back in 1976 and has become the
>standard file system for all digital still cameras....
>
>http://www.dpreview.com/news/0312/03120403microsoftisfat.asp
>
>



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