Microsoft FAT patent loss endangers its Android revenue

The Bundespatentgericht (Federal Patent Court of Germany) has ruled that that Microsoft's European Union (EU) patent EP0618540  for its File Allocation Table (FAT) or "common name space for long and short filenames" is entirely invalid.

While Microsoft is expected to appeal this decision, it will be months before it appears in front of the next court. In the meantime, one of Microsoft main Android patent weapons has been rendered harmless for now in the EU. 

This may sound like a minor patent. It's not. Microsoft has been using this patent since 2003 to pressure Linux and Android companies that use the popular FAT file system for compatibility with other operating systems.

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