Who ever thought patents and the patent system could be so exciting. First, yesterday's news about IBM working with the USPTO. Now, Microsoft's patent on one the most widely used file storage system was still considered valid after a re-examination.

In their latest action, filed last week, the examiners concluded that the company's File Allocation Table (FAT) file system is, in fact, "novel and non-obvious," entitling it to patentability. Now the office is in the process of issuing a "patent re-examination certificate," which signals the finality of the decision, a Microsoft representative said.

As, the News.com article reported this has big implication for flash memory and Linux operating system.
Tags: patent, patents, intellectual