Microsoft Patents FAT

[Warrior]

Nate: They wouldn't be able to since it's formatted using Windows a product you own. It would only work if another company used the FAT filesystem (with the LFN extensions) and sold it for money.

Uh they can definately charge you.  M$ would consider it a service in order to make a third-party peripheral compatable with Windows.

If they're doing it and it's optional they'd have no way of knowing. They'd have to go check everyone individually in thier house to check what FS is on thier iPod when THEY PUT IT THERE IN THE FIRSTPLACE. They can't charge Apple nor can they charge me since a) I don't manufacture the iPod and b) I put the FS on my iPod, they do.  They can't charge you for infringing something you never sold in the first place or used in something other than a personal manner anyway. That's like them charging you to use Windows98 because it uses FAT with LFN.

[iago]

Well, iPods can read FAT32, so maybe that's a problem for Apple?

But iPod never actually displays filenames, so perhaps it doesn't use long filenames?

[Joe]

iPods are advertised as being able to store files (which they can), and they can utilize long filenames.

On the other hand, long filenames aren't used for storing music files that are read by the iPod itself.