Announced February 25, 2010, Microsoft has entered into an intellectual property licensing agreement with Panasonic Corp. to provide it with access to Microsoft's Extended File Allocation Table (exFAT) technology, the latest generation of Microsoft's file system.
Built to handle today's rich and integrated media experiences, exFAT technology delivers a significant leap forward in terms of the size of files that can be stored on a broad range of consumer electronic devices, and the speed with which they can be accessed. In addition to the license on Microsoft's exFAT technology, Panasonic has obtained a patent license that covers FAT32 long file name technology.
exFAT is a modern file system improving on its predecessor, the FAT system, and greatly expands the size of files that flash memory devices can handle. The exFAT file system facilitates large files for use of audiovisual media and enables data portability and interchange between desktop PCs and consumer electronic devices.
Microsoft offers flexible intellectual property licensing programs that give companies access to many of the foundational technologies in its own products, allowing those companies to build devices, applications and services that work seamlessly with each other. Microsoft has entered into exFAT licensing agreements with several leading companies including Sanyo and Olympus.