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PGWARE Web Host
Joined: 29 Dec 2001 Posts: 1562
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Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2002 4:57 pm Post subject: VDSOBJ Pulled - Please read |
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I will be pulling the extension vdsobj.dll off of vdsworld. The reason for this is due to the licensing requirements of the GIF image. GIF is patented by Unisys and they require a large fee for the use of gif images in anyway. I will be changing the vdsobj to remove GIF support, however for now DO NOT distribute any applications that use the vdsobj using the GIF image (if your application is not using any gif's then continue to use the vdsobj) otherwise you will need to purchase a license from Unisys to use gif images. |
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LiquidCode Moderator Team
Joined: 05 Dec 2000 Posts: 1751 Location: Space and Time
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Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2002 5:02 pm Post subject: |
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What is this world comming to??? First MP3s now GIFs...what next,
are we all going to have to pay everytime we boot up? _________________ Chris
Http://theblindhouse.com |
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PGWARE Web Host
Joined: 29 Dec 2001 Posts: 1562
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Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2002 5:42 pm Post subject: |
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;( unless your using Linux you already paid to boot up (windows) Also when .NET is fully released expect to see some software being charged on a per usage basis (possibly Windows, MS Office, Antivirus soft). |
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Tommy Admin Team
Joined: 16 Nov 2002 Posts: 746 Location: The Netherlands
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Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2002 6:30 pm Post subject: |
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Don't worry. The former patent on LZW compression which would be used in .gif images
has already expired, or is about to for sure at 10 December this year (I'm not sure into
which category this piece of software belongs).
Quote from http://www.geocities.co.jp/SiliconValley/3453/gif_info/lzw_patent_en.html:
"United States Patent No. 4,558,302 (Dec. 10, 1985)
FILED: Jun. 20, 1983
TITLE: "High speed data compression and decompression apparatus and method"
INVENTOR: Welch, Terry A., Concord, Massachusetts
ASSIGNEE: Sperry Corporation, New York, New York
(In 1986, Sperry Corporation and Burroughs merged to form Unisys)"
Quote from https://www.library.gatech.edu/techres/patentfacts.htm:
"How long do patents last?
Utility and plant patents issued since June 8, 1995 expire 20 years from the date of application with the payment of maintenance fees.
Utility and plant patents issued prior to June 8, 1995 expire 17 years from the date of issue with the payment of maintenance fees.
Design patent expire 14 years from the date of issue.
Patents are not renewable. Under special circumstances, a patent term may be extended." |
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Tommy Admin Team
Joined: 16 Nov 2002 Posts: 746 Location: The Netherlands
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Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2002 6:59 pm Post subject: |
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After some additional searching, it seems like it belongs in the "utility & plants" category,
so that it will only expire at 10 December of this year. Still of course, as this is so soon
and we have been using all this for such a long time already, I don't think it would be a
big deal to remain using it even before then, although it must be said that it still might
be illegal during these 3 weeks.
http://cbbrowne.com/info/lsfpatents.html |
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Tommy Admin Team
Joined: 16 Nov 2002 Posts: 746 Location: The Netherlands
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Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2002 7:06 pm Post subject: |
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More news:
It seems it's safe using the gif VDS DLLs in your software as it's only capable of
reading gif files, not writing them:
From http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/gif.html:
"Decoding GIFs is a different issue. The Unisys and IBM patents are both written in such a way that they do not apply to a program which can only uncompress LZW format and cannot compress. Therefore we can and will include support for displaying GIF files in GNU software." |
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