Re: GIF Format
Unfortunately, according to a faq about compression I read some (long) time
ago .. (its was a standard faq of a compression techniques news group) there
are about 3 different pattents about LZW-based compression and they all
controdict. Unisys at least, is not the first. Lzh and any extended form of
run-lenght-encoding was already pattented by IBM a long long time ago. There
have never been no trail, but the word is, IBM would technically win such a
trail, since there pattent is older and the LZW technique is an applied form
of their pattened idea.
Like this more weird pattents exist and since I'm quite sure the website of
the juridical agencies aren't paying any loyalities, why would you ?
Ralf.
PS. Honestly, I wouldn't mind any hacker, kicking Unisys butt for these kind
of pranks though.
PPS. Btw, of all things a hacker could do on MS computers (eh. Hotmail)
opening everybody's email account is like the most stupid thing of all. It
hurts the audience, rather the corporate butchers.
> On Tue, 31 Aug 1999, you wrote:
> > As far as I knew use of GIF format images is free.
> > So is using code to read GIFs.
> > It's only when you write code to WRITE a file in GIF format that you a
required to pay the
> > licence.
> >
> > That is a program to read GI's is OK.
> > A program that writes GIFs must pay the $5000 licence.
> >
>
> Nope. and I quote from the Unisys web page (which probably requires a
license,
> too!):
>
> License Information on GIF and Other LZW-based Technologies
>
> More and more people are becoming aware that the reading and/or writing of
GIF images requires
> a license to use Unisys patented Lempel Ziv Welch (LZW) data compression
and
> decompression technology, including United States Patent No. 4,558,302,
> Japanese Patent Numbers 2,123,602 and 2,610,084, and patents in Canada,
France,
> Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom. Since January of 1995, Unisys has
> entered into almost two thousand license agreements for use of GIF and
other
> LZW-based technology.
> ..........
> Does this apply to just storing or serving GIF images on a web site?
> Yes. See below:
>
> Web Site LZW Licenses Available from Unisys
>
> Because demand for LZW-related technology by Web developers continues to
grow,
> Unisys wants to make obtaining a license for Web-based use of the LZW
> technology as easy and as straightforward as possible. Unisys therefore
> announces a new way for operators of certain types of Web sites to obtain
an
> LZW license. If you are the operator of an Intranet Web site or an
Internet
> Billboard Web site (see detailed definitions) and use the types of images
> covered by the LZW patent, you qualify. Types of images covered GIF,
> TIFF-LZW, PDF-LZW images or other LZW graphical formats used in connection
with
> the creation, operation or maintenance of a Web site.
>
> Now, reading further, you will find out that under certain conditions, a
> not-for-profit BBS or web server with no commercial use or any items
> for sale may use GIFs _IF_ the operator applies for a written waver from
> Unisys. This waver may be provided at no charge, if Unisys so decides.
Without
> the written waver, or the $5000 license, _NO_ use is allowed.
>
> The full text is here: http://corp2.unisys.com/LeadStory/lzwfaq.html
> For lawyer-speak, it is pretty clear.
>
> Regards,
> Irv
>
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