Microsoft to put exFAT support into the kernel
Linux support for the exFAT filesystem has had a long and troubled history; Microsoft has
long asserted patents in this area that have prevented that code from being
merged into the kernel. Microsoft has just changed its tune, announcing
that upstreaming exFAT is now OK: "It’s important to us that the
Linux community can make use of exFAT included in the Linux kernel with
confidence. To this end, we will be making Microsoft’s technical
specification for exFAT publicly available to facilitate development of
conformant, interoperable implementations. We also support the eventual
inclusion of a Linux kernel with exFAT support in a future revision of the
Open Invention Network’s Linux System Definition, where, once accepted, the
code will benefit from the defensive patent commitments of OIN’s 3040+
members and licensees."