A new VFAT patent avoidance patch

The claims of both of the VFAT patents involve the creation (or storing) of both a long filename and a short filename for a file. The 2nd patch only creates/stores either a short filename or a long filename for a file, but never both. The 11 bytes created by vfat_build_dummy_83_buffer() to pad the field for short filenames cannot be used to access the file, and contain bytes which are invalid in FAT and VFAT filenames, and therefore are not filenames as that term is and has been used in the technical community.

Andrew Tridgell has posted a new patch intended to enable the kernel to work around the VFAT patents. Unlike the previous version ( covered on LWN in May), this patch preserves the long filename functionality which is at the core of the patent. There's an associated FAQ which describes the patch and the approach which has been taken in its development and posting. " Log in to post comments)