Quote:
Originally posted by Hooper
not for 4 years...
In 1987, CompuServe designed the Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) specification for graphics files. The GIF specification incorporated the Lempel-Zev-Welch (LZW) compression technology on which Unisys Corporation was independently pursuing a patent filing. In early 1993, Unisys notified CompuServe of patent rights granted to LZW. At that time, CompuServe began negotiating with Unisys to secure a licensing agreement. This agreement was reached in mid-1994, and CompuServe then initiated a process to secure a similar license that would benefit its GIF developer community.
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hmmm..... I understood it expired last month:
In the U.S., the patent for the Lempel-Ziv-Welch, or LZW, compression algorithm expires June 20. LZW forms the basis of the popular GIF (Graphics Interchange Format).
- ZDNet