Re: [PATCH] Add CONFIG_VFAT_NO_CREATE_WITH_LONGNAMES option

Valdis.Kletnieks
2009-05-05T20:57:46Z

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On Tue, 05 May 2009 20:39:05 +0930, David Newall said:

> Whether your patch goes in; whether it doesn't; it now seems there's
> something fishy about long filenames, and to be safe, perhaps it would
> be better to just turn off anything to do with FAT filesystems. Who
> would care, right? Unless i turns out that Linux no longer has the
> essential features.
>
> Unless disrupting Linux was the point, and of course it isn't, it seems
> that full disclosure is required. And that's before any patch should
> even be looked at.

Well, VFAT was in Windows for Workgroups 3.11 or so, back in 1982, and a patent
only runs 17 years. So that clock's been ticking for quite some time. Heck,
one could probably make a case that if Microsoft hasn't officially squawked
*yet* about code that infringes on anything that was released in '82, that
they've basically estoppell'd themselves.

Of course, some spoil-sport is going to come along and say that submarine
patents don't work that way. ;)

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