Microsoft today announced [microsoft.com] that it
is supporting the addition of Microsoft’s exFAT technology to the Linux kernel.
Microsoft has published the exFAT file system specification [microsoft.com] on its Windows Dev Center site.
While the code remains under copyright, Microsoft also stated [twitter.com] that the exFAT code incorporated into the Linux kernel will be available under GPLv2.
We also support the eventual inclusion of a Linux kernel with exFAT support in a future revision of the Open Invention Network’s Linux System Definition, where, once accepted, the code will benefit from the defensive patent commitments of OIN’s 3040+ members and licensees.
It is noteworthy that there is already a free and open source exFAT driver [github.com] available for FreeBSD and multiple Linux distributions, but it is not an official part of the Linux kernel due to the patent encumbrance of exFAT.