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Re: [XaraXtreme-dev] Just checked in...



--On 13 April 2006 12:56 +0100 Alex Bligh <alex@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:


The GIF patent problem is down to the Unisys LZW patent which has expired
in the EU AFAIUI, and I think in the US too; but I'm not /sure/ it's
expired everywhere.


More info:
http://www.unisys.com/about__unisys/lzw
appears to say the core LZW patent (which is the only one infringed by
GIF I think) has expired, at least in all the regions they mention
having a patent in the first place.

Note the Unisys patents only ever applied to writing GIFs, not
reading them. There is also a parallel IBM patent (which as
far as I know has never been asserted not least because the
of the Unisys patent which probably make it invalid) which
in any case expires on 11 August 2006.

I would thus guess it's reasonably safe, and even safer if you
don't actually include the LZW code but instead merely link
to it.

Alex