US software giant, Microsoft has this week welcomed a decision by the US Patent and Trademark Office to reverse a non-final ruling issued last October which rejected the firm's claims regarding its role in the development of a key file system.
The patent filed by Microsoft in 1996 covered technology for saving files onto computers using straightforward and memorable names, and the USPTO agreed to re-examine it following a request from the Public Patent Foundation.
The patent specifically pertained to Microsoft's File Allocation Table (FAT) system, which has become the norm in terms of file storage on computers and memory cards.
The FAT system is also used by certain Linux and Unix software to allow computers using the open-source operating systems to exchange data with Windows computers, and by Linux itself to read and write files to Windows hard drives, meaning that this new reversal could potentially cause problems for the open source community should Microsoft decide to pursue the matter.
Microsoft has, unsurprisingly, stated this week that it is "very pleased" with the USPTO's decision to reverse its 2005 ruling.
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