Tuxera Closes ExFAT Patent Agreement with Microsoft
Tuxera, the Finnish company behind the NTFS-3G open source driver, on its own initiative entered into an agreement with Microsoft over exFAT drivers.
NTFS-3G is a free NTFS driver for Linux, FreeBSD, OpenSolaris and a few other operating systems, also a part of most Linux distros. Project lead and developer Szabolcs Szakacsits founded Tuxera in 2008 with the expressed goal to provide exFAT and NTFS drivers in plug-and-play interoperability with Windows.
This goal now seems to have been met with the newly signed contract with Microsoft in which Tuxera developers have access to the technical data and test tools of Microsoft's exFAT drivers. Tuxera will provide Linux drivers to OEMs that use exFAT for flash memory in numerous electronic devices. Microsoft introduced the Extended File Allocation Table filesystem, also known as FAT64, with Windows CE 6.0 in 2006. The filesystem allows file sizes beyond 4 GBytes, the upper limit for FAT32. The SD Association, an alliance of more than 1,100 companies using SD technology, had selected the Microsoft filesystem standard for its SDXC memory cards.
The Intellectual Property Agreement essentially adds Tuxera to Microsoft's dealer network according to Tuxera's assessment as the "first independent software vendor" in the exFAT program. It took a year's work, says Tuxera CEO Mikko Välimäki in his blog: "We came to Redmond to have an agreement, and in the end that is what we got. Three days of meetings and talking." Even Microsoft was impressed by the eagerness with which an open source firm wanted to close a deal with them: "After we had signed, someone from Microsoft asked: 'Have we ever done a deal so quickly?' 'I don't think so,' was the answer."
Other open source ventures are somewhat less relaxed in their dealings with Microsoft over FAT patents. The TomTom navigation software maker has had its patent legality issues with Microsoft, the Open Invention Network (OIN) is gathering prior art evidence against the Redmond giant, and Linux developers are busily removing FAT code from their products.
Meanwhile Tuxera managers are celebrating the deal. CTO Szakacsits puts it this way: "Adding exFAT into our existing NTFS product portfolio is the logical step to help our customers solve any interoperable file system need they have." The financial part of the deal has not been revealed.
Comments
comments powered by DisqusIssue 272/2023
Buy this issue as a PDF
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you've found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Armbian 23.05 is Now Available
Based on Debian 12, the latest version of the ARM/RISC-V distribution is now available to download and install.
-
Linux Mint Finally Receiving Support for Gestures
If you use the Linux Mint Cinnamon desktop, you'll be thrilled to know that 21.2 is getting support for gestures on touchscreen devices and touchpads.
-
An All-Snap Version of Ubuntu is In The Works
Along with the standard deb version of the open-source operating system, Canonical will release an-all snap version.
-
Mageia 9 Beta 2 Ready for Testing
The latest beta of the popular Mageia distribution now includes the latest kernel and plenty of updated applications.
-
KDE Plasma 6 Looks to Bring Basic HDR Support
The KWin piece of KDE Plasma now has HDR support and color management geared for the 6.0 release.
-
Bodhi Linux 7.0 Beta Ready for Testing
The latest iteration of the Bohdi Linux distribution is now available for those who want to experience what's in store and for testing purposes.
-
Changes Coming to Ubuntu PPA Usage
The way you manage Personal Package Archives will be changing with the release of Ubuntu 23.10.
-
AlmaLinux 9.2 Now Available for Download
AlmaLinux has been released and provides a free alternative to upstream Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
-
An Immutable Version of Fedora Is Under Consideration
For anyone who's a fan of using immutable versions of Linux, the Fedora team is currently considering adding a new spin called Fedora Onyx.
-
New Release of Br OS Includes ChatGPT Integration
Br OS 23.04 is now available and is geared specifically toward web content creation.
FUD even here
Could you please refrain from BS'ing?
No one's removing code, linux developers are just creating workarounds to allow people to keep on using linux in whatever region of the Globe they live in.
US companies which use Linux in their products will have to remove LFN support for FAT32 in Linux (unless they licensed FAT32 LFN support), while companies from other countries may be unaffected.