exFAT is no longer encumbered

[Nick Wolff]

Sounds like something the foundation might be able to help with.


On Mon, Dec 30, 2019 at 6:41 AM Carmel NY <carmel_ny at outlook.com> wrote:

> On Sun, 29 Dec 2019 18:51:41 -0700, Adam Weinberger stated:
> >On Sun, Dec 29, 2019 at 6:38 PM Kevin P. Neal <kpn at neutralgood.org>
> >wrote:
> >>
> >> On Sat, Dec 28, 2019 at 01:01:52AM -0600, Greg Rivers wrote:
> >> > As of last August, Microsoft have relaxed the patent restrictions
> >> > on exFAT[1].
> >> >
> >> > Can the Makefile LICENSE_PERMS_MSPAT restrictions be removed from
> >> > sysutils/fusefs-exfat? Might exFAT make it into the FreeBSD base
> >> > system (like msdosfs) one day?
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > [1]
> >> > <
> https://cloudblogs.microsoft.com/opensource/2019/08/28/exfat-linux-kernel/
> >
> >> >
> >>
> >> I'm not sure that counts as a license. IANAL, but I'd like to see an
> >> explicit granting of a license to anyone at no cost, and the license
> >> needs to be transferable.
> >>
> >> The way Berkeley eliminated the advertising clause was good. Simply
> >> saying "Microsoft is supporting the addition of" doesn't really say
> >> anything. It's a statement of corporate direction and nothing else.
> >
> >Expanding on what Kevin said,
> >
> https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/legal/intellectualproperty/mtl/exfat-licensing.aspx
> >suggests that (a) exFAT is still patented and restricted as before,
> >and (b) GPLv2 licensing was granted only for the Linux kernel module
> >that they submitted.
> >
> >The BSD License grants the ability to use BSD-licensed code in
> >commercial products, so I'm not sure that Microsoft would want to
> >relax their licensing for us. As Kevin said, IANAL.
> >
> ># Adam
>
> I imagine that someone could actually inquire. It would cost nothing
> and end this FUD that is surrounding this subject.
>
>         http://aka.ms/celaiplicensing
>
> --
> Carmel
>