Xref: utcsri ont.general:22628 ott.general:10469 uw.general:18808 Newsgroups: ncf.general,ncf.admin,ont.general,ott.general,uw.general Path: utcsri!utnut!torn!nott!cunews!freenet.carleton.ca!FreeNet.Carleton.CA!am588 From: am588@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Bill McEachern) Subject: CompuServe and UniSys to restrict use of gif format Message-ID: Sender: am588@freenet3.carleton.ca (Bill McEachern) Reply-To: am588@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Bill McEachern) Organization: The National Capital FreeNet Date: Wed, 4 Jan 1995 14:51:56 GMT Lines: 184 The following is reposted from the RISKS DIGEST 16.69 (newsgroup comp.risks). If true, this spells the end of the gif standard. I guess we'll all have to switch to jpeg. I have posted it here because it is of general interest to all computer users. Damn those software patents! ~Date: Tue, 3 Jan 95 13:27:49 PST ~From: "Peter G. Neumann" ~Subject: One for the GIFfer (CompuServe-Unisys GIF Tax Protest, Pat Clawson) An Open Letter to Our Colleagues In the Online Communications Community: The announcement by CompuServe and Unisys that users of the GIF image format must register by January 10 [1995] and pay a royalty or face lawsuits for their past usage, is the online communications community's equivalent of the sneak attack at Pearl Harbor. The announcement of the CompuServe-Unisys GIF Tax on December 29, during the lull between Christmas and New Year's Day, was clearly timed to cause maximum damage while an unsuspecting public celebrated the holidays. We at TeleGrafix Communications have no quarrel with those who seek to protect their intellectual property and profit from it. Indeed, we are in business to do the same. We believe those who develop software are entitled to reap financial rewards from their labors. But in our opinion, the timing and circumstances of the CompuServe-Unisys action indicates this is a shakedown of the online communications community by two powerful corporations, rather than a reasonable effort to protect intellectual property. The GIF format has been in widespread public use since 1987. Its widespread use and royalty-free licensing has been encouraged by CompuServe for years. Neither CompuServe or Unisys have made any significant improvements to GIF or its underlying LZW algorithm and compression process to justify charging for what has been free. Giving GIF users only 14 days to comply with sudden, unexpected demands to pay the private CompuServe-Unisys GIF Tax or face prosecution for past usage of what had been promoted for seven years as free, open standard software is unconscionable. It is especially outrageous since CompuServe and Unisys admit in writing that they decided to require licensing SIX MONTHS AGO in June, and didn't announce it to the public until now. According to the CompuServe-Unisys GIF licensing agreement, the settlement of the patent dispute was executed on June 21, 1994. CompuServe agreed to implement the agreement "as soon as reasonably practicable and in no case later than six (6) months after the date this Agreement is executed..." That six month period ended on December 21, 1994 -- but CompuServe did not make the licensing terms public until December 28. Indeed, CompuServe appears to have violated the terms of its own settlement agreement with Unisys. While many of the messages we have read online in reaction to the CompuServe-Unisys GIF Tax decree express both dismay and disbelief, virtually none have analyzed the actual provisions of the licensing agreement. It is in this area that TeleGrafix Communications wishes to contribute to the dialogue. In our opinion, the CompuServe-Unisys licensing agreement is both illogical and overly broad. Let's examine some of its key provisions. All quotes cited are directly from the agreement. 1. CompuServe will license Developers who want to use GIF technology. The term "developer" is defined as "the other undersigned party to the agreement," and it seems to apply to ANYONE who contemplates distributing any product that uses the GIF format. 2. Developers will be licensed to sell or distribute "Products" that "use and exploit GIF...solely within the Field of Use." The term "Field of Use" is defined as "primarily for accessing the CompuServe Information Service and for manipulating and viewing data received through the CompuServe Information Service." The licensing agreement further defines the term "Products" as being "software that is developed or distributed...which is designed for and used primarily for accessing the CompuServe Information Service and for manipulating and viewing data received through the CompuServe Information Service." IT APPEARS THAT THE ONLY LAWFUL USE OF GIF WILL BE FOR COMPUSERVE-RELATED PRODUCTS. Using GIF images in any other manner, such as on CD-ROMs or bulletin board systems, is prohibited. Most of the thousands of products that have used GIF in some manner are henceforth contraband. 3. Developers may no longer "use, copy, modify or distribute the GIF specification, except as expressly permitted by CompuServe." This states that the GIF specification can no longer be shared, published or uploaded in any manner without the express consent of CompuServe. 4. Members of the public are prohibited from using any software product containing GIF until they have become a REGISTERED user of the product. The customer also must agree to use the product "primarily for accessing the CompuServe Information Service and for manipulating and viewing data received through the CompuServe Information Service." This virtually eliminates the concept of freeware or shareware containing GIF capabilities, since prospective customers can no longer try out these software products without registering them first. 5. Software developers must pay $1.00 for a license to use GIF, PLUS a fee equal to the GREATER of 1.5% of the selling price of the product, or $0.15 per "Disposition." Disposition is defined as "the sale, lease or license or any other grant of rights to a Product or any new Product." All royalties must be paid quarterly. Noncommercial and freeware usage of GIF technology is NOT exempted from the royalty requirement. Because the royalty provisions and definition of "Disposition" are so broad in scope, it appears that a GIF Tax payment may be due to CompuServe-Unisys each time a GIF image is transmitted via BBS or Internet. The operators of a BBS or World Wide Web site with hundreds or thousands of GIF images online could easily be bankrupted by these licensing requirements. 6. CompuServe must be notified of ANY new product using GIF when it is first offered to customers. 7. Persons using GIF must keep records of its use, and CompuServe has the right to audit those records every year upon seven days notice. Persons using GIF must pay the cost of the audit if a royalty underpayment of 10% or more is discovered, along with 12% interest on any underpaid royalties. 8. Even if the patent is later found by the courts or the U.S. Patent Office to be invalid and unenforceable, or if the patent expires, any developer must "return all copies of the GIF specification and any confidential information of CompuServe then in its possession or control to CompuServe, (ii) stop using the Licensed Technology, and (iii) stop distributing Products." This states that EVEN IF THE PATENT IS OVERTURNED OR EXPIRES, YOU MUST STOP USING OR DISTRIBUTING GIF. 9. Even though CompuServe has publicly disseminated the text of the agreement it wants GIF users to sign, the terms of the agreement are to remain confidential. This is illogical, to say the least, since they have posted it for public download on their own system. 10. Developers have to indemnify and hold CompuServe harmless for any damages if their CUSTOMERS somehow use GIF technology in a way not permitted by the licensing agreement. 11. Unisys has the right to enforce the agreement, as well as CompuServe. Further, Unisys has the right to pursue legal action or seek damages against Developers even after the agreement has terminated. TeleGrafix Communications Inc. will not sign such a licensing agreement. We think most other software developers, BBS sysops and Web site operators also will refuse to sign. We encourage our colleagues in the online communications community to evaluate the CompuServe-Unisys action, and to lodge appropriate protests directly with those companies. We believe that the CompuServe-Unisys GIF Tax drives a stake through the heart of Internet development. It will cripple the World Wide Web, NCSA Mosaic, and other Internet multimedia technologies that rely heavily on GIF imaging. Fortunately, we at TeleGrafix Communications do not depend on GIF imaging in our new RIPscrip 2.0 online multimedia technologies. We chose to implement the JPEG image format and only recently decided to add GIF support as a convenience to our customers. Due to the restrictive conditions of the CompuServe-Unisys GIF Tax and licensing agreement, we must now reevaluate our plans for supporting GIF use in the upcoming release of RIPscrip 2.0. While our company hopes to profit financially from our advanced RIPscrip 2.0 technology, we will not demand royalties from those who have used the freeware versions of our earlier RIPscrip 1.54 products and/or technical specifications. The RIPscrip 2.0 specification also will be made public for third-party use after it is finalized. We expect that the CompuServe-Unisys action will spell the death of GIF as a commercially viable technology, shifting the attention of the online communications community to JPEG imaging. Sincerely, Pat Clawson President & Chief Executive Officer TeleGrafix Communications Inc. Huntington Beach, CA Voice: (714) 379-2140 Fax: (714) 379-2132 BBS: (714) 379-2133 Internet: rip.support@telegrafix.com -- Bill McEachern "I trust you all remembered to bring in your #include implements of destruction" - Principal Skinner Internet: billmc@Newbridge.com am588@freenet.carleton.ca Xref: utcsri ont.general:22629 ott.general:10471 uw.general:18809 uw.uwinfo.providers:25 Newsgroups: ont.general,ott.general,uw.general,uw.uwinfo.providers Path: utcsri!newsflash.concordia.ca!uunet!undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca!csgrs6k1.uwaterloo.ca!peter From: peter@csgrs6k1.uwaterloo.ca (Peter Bumbulis) Subject: Re: CompuServe and UniSys to restrict use of gif format Message-ID: Sender: news@undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca (news spool owner) Nntp-Posting-Host: csgrs6k1.uwaterloo.ca Organization: University of Waterloo References: Date: Wed, 4 Jan 1995 16:21:15 GMT Lines: 136 The following was posted to comp.infosystems.www.providers; it might shed some more light on the issue. Peter ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ~Subject: Re: Use a GIF, Go to Jail ~Date: Wed, 04 Jan 1995 00:20:11 -0500 ~From: James Waldrop > First of all, having a GIF is not an infringement of the Unisys patent. > However, if you operate a viewer or produce a GIF-format image, you have > opened yourself up to suit. CompuServe has absolutely nothing to do > with this, as the attached text shows. > > The end result of all of this is that GIF is dead. Long live JPEG. > > James aka Sulam > > A VP of CompuServe sez: > #177 of 178: Tim Oren (oren) Tue Jan 3 '95 (18:11) 35 lines > > Some of the folks here know me as a long time well-being or from other > places (Hi, Laura!). I have the distinction (?) of being a vice-president > at CompuServe as well. Mandel has reposted a informal note of mine on > the Web 68 / EFF 658 thread regarding the LZW controversy. I also wanted > to make a few more comments on this Web only topic: > > CompuServe has not and is not asserting a proprietary interest in the GIF > spec. Even if we wanted to, there are enough sharp attorneys here who could > remind us that it has long been publicly disclosed with no patent filing > or attempt to assert other rights. However, in developng GIF, we did > use the LZW compression scheme. Unknown to us at the time, Unisys had > filed for a patent on that algorithm, even though we found it in a public > source. We were approached regarding the matter long after GIF had been > widely released on CompuServe and to the market at large. Regardless of > what you may think about software patents in general, or the tactic of > waiting until substantial infringment has occured, we were in an infringing > position and had no option to seek a license. Since we have a substantial > base of developers who were not only creating clients to Compuserve, > but had used GIF in good faith in their own products, we also needed to > in some way protect their interests by developng a pass through license. > > The text of that license, or portions of it, are what's circulating > around the nets. Because it has been taken out of context, many are taking > it as an assertion, by CompuServe, of an intent to prosecute proprietary > rights in GIF against all users, including developers of Web clients > and other software. This is not the case. CompuServe has no intent > of pursuing rights in GIF in such a fashion, and I am writing this with > the knowledge and consent of our CEO. Unisys, of course, may follow > whatever they see as their best interests in the matter. For better or > worse, as a patent attorney can tell you, selective enforcement is allowed > by the letter of the law. > > Tim Oren > Vice President > CompuServe > > and more from Mr Oren: > > Re GIF, I can talk about it, and if the impression being left is that > we are trying to make big bucks, I definitely need to talk about it, > because we've left the wrong impression. Here's the story, which you > CAN repeat, WITH my name attached: > > GIF was originally developed at CompuServe by Steve Wilhite, who > currently works for me. As part of it, he used with the LZW > compression scheme, which had been openly published by Unisys engineer > in a journal. A number of other developers picked up and used LZW as > well. None of us knew that Unisys had filed for, and eventually > received, a patent on the LZW scheme. I believe this is called a > 'submarine' patent - it can surface and get you later. We were got. > > Unisys proposed an infringement suit, and we had no recourse but to > settle. We are paying licensing fees in a manner which IS a > nondisclosure item. One of the things we needed to be able to do is to > 'pass through' a license embodying both LZW & GIF to those developers > who create their own client programs to CompuServe, such as TAPCIS and > Mac Nav, since they 'practice' LZW as well. The reason that GIF is > included as a conditional in such licenses is that we can't pass > through an unrestricted LZW license, and the reason there is money > involved is that we in turn have to pay Unisys. > > If anyone is taking the impression that we are asserting proprietary > rights in GIF additional to the LZW patent, that is wrong. Neither are > we attempting to assist Unisys in enforcing their patent with respect > to non-CompuServe environments, such as the Internet, though 'buying > into' our license would be one way of Internet based vendors in > avoiding possible action from Unisys. > > This is far more headache than it is worth, believe me, and we are > actively engaged in looking at migration strategies that will get us > and our customers off the hook. Our reputation has been damaged by > being an unwitting partner to Unisys during those 7 years of > encouraging proliferation, and we are not happy about it. (I'm sure > Stallman - rms - could find a moral in here somewhere... ) > > And still more: > COMPUSERVE ANNOUNCES GIF DEVELOPER LICENSE PROGRAM > > On May 28th, 1987, CompuServe introduced the Graphics Interchange Format > (GIF) specification, subsequently revising the specification on August 8, > 1990. Since that time, CompuServe has worked extensively with developers > to license GIF and make it the worldwide graphics standard that it > currently is. GIF uses LZW compression and decompression methods that > CompuServe originally thought to be public domain. However, Unisys > Corporation claims patent rights to the LZW algorithm and compression > process. This has caused some confusion as to whether developers need to > license LZW from Unisys. > > CompuServe recently negotiated and secured a patent license for LZW > technology from Unisys. Through this license, CompuServe is able to provide > a sub-license to GIF developers. This CompuServe GIF license agreement > grants the developer lawful use of GIF and the LZW algorithm for certain > uses. This relieves licensees from the obligation to license LZW directly > from Unisys and extends to them other benefits of the terms negotiated by > CompuServe. The CompuServe GIF license is based upon terms established with > Unisys by CompuServe. This includes a requirement that the developer's > software be used primarily with the CompuServe Information Service or use > information obtained through the CompuServe Information Service. This > license is subject to a reasonable royalty. > > GIF developers who register prior to January 10, 1995 can obtain the > benefit of a clause in the CompuServe-Unisys agreement that states that > Unisys will not pursue royalty claims for past use of LZW. The CompuServe > GIF developer agreement, including compliance requirements, is available on > the CompuServe Information Service in the Standards and Spec's section of > the Graphics Support Forum. A new specification will be finalized which > will become a part of the license agreement. > > --------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Gnarly Spewage from James Waldrop > ....check out the VAL home-page @ http://www.io.com/user/jbay > Mister Gotti would very much like you to invite someone to join VAL. Today. -- Peter Bumbulis peter@csg.uwaterloo.ca Computer Systems Group / University of Waterloo / Waterloo, Ontario / N2L 3G1