On Wed, 7 Feb 2001, Peter Ondraska wrote:
> Hi guys.
> I'm closely following the discussion about the lincesing of Gif producing
> applications.
>
> And I wonder if I also officialy have to get some lincence. I have written
> a gif viewer and I offer it as freeware.
>
> Can you help me?
According to Unisys, freeware applications do need a license...
however, according to their page at
http://www.unisys.com/unisys/lzw/default.asp,
"...reading and/or writing 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."
It would appear, on the face of it, that the patent is only
enforceable in those listed countries, however, you never know
what kind of applicable treaties might be in force.
I would suggest you write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and see what
they say. If you mention what country you're from, and the fact
that it's freeware, they might just send you a certificate that
you don't need a license.
Anyway, depending on their answer, you might want to consult a
lawyer who specializes in international law. Before being scared
off at the thought of "billable hours," bear in mind that there are
law boards on the web where such lawyers will answer questions free
of charge. As of right now, such a board still exists on Delphi,
and it's a very active one at that.
- Steve
