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Panasonic licenses Microsoft file system in latest patent agreement
Panasonic has licensed a Microsoft file system that makes it possible for consumer electronics devices to store larger files, joining Sanyo and Olympus as licensees of the "exFAT" technology, according to a Microsoft news release this morning. At the same time, Microsoft said Panasonic obtained a patent license from Microsoft that covers Panasonic's use of a long file-name technology, known as FAT32, in its products.
Microsoft's patents on File Allocation Technology (FAT) have played a role in some of the company's disputes over the open-source Linux operating system, with Microsoft claiming that some implementations of Linux violate those patents. However, Microsoft doesn't specifically mention Linux in the Panasonic news release, in contrast with its statement about a patent deal with Amazon earlier this week.
We asked a Microsoft representative if any of the licenses taken by Panasonic are intended to cover any Linux implementations in Panasonic's devices, but the initial response didn't directly answer the question.
"This agreement covers Microsoft’s exFAT and FAT technology to enhance multi-media experiences across an array of products," the company representative said in an email. "Microsoft’s exFAT technology can be licensed by companies running proprietary, open source and mixed source software."
Microsoft describes the exFAT technology "as a modern file system improving on its predecessor, the FAT system, and greatly expands the size of files that flash memory devices can handle. It says the exFAT file system "not only facilitates large files for use of audiovisual media, it enables seamless data portability and an easy interchange between desktop PCs and consumer electronic devices."
Microsoft and Panasonic have collaborated in the past on digital media exchanges between PCs and devices; Windows Media technologies in Panasonic devices; and DVD media formats.
About Todd Bishop
Todd Bishop is co-founder and managing editor of TechFlash. He has covered Microsoft and the technology industry for more than five years, most recently as a daily newspaper reporter and blogger based in Seattle.
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