As noted on Slashdot, Microsoft is starting to charge licensing fees for the FAT file system that they hold Patents on.
The two licenses described are for solid state media manufacturers and consumer devices -- such as portable digital audio players.
As Apple's iPod uses the FAT32 format for Windows support... but it's entirely unclear the effect of this licensing program will have on manufacturers.
The patents appear to cover long-name implementation, and the program offers "official" FAT code for use to ensure compatibility... but it's left to speculation whether this affects manufacturers who do not require long-filename support or don't need official FAT code support.
