Fugitives from Justice
I read Lincoln Stein's article in this month's [December 1999] Web Techniques magazine. At first, I was alarmed to the point of initiating a batch conversion of the 234 GIF images on my personal Web site.
But then I called the folks who produce the popular graphics manipulation program, Paint Shop Pro (Jasc).
It is their house attorney's view that I have already purchased a registered copy of the graphics program. And since Jasc has purchased the rights to use the LZW scheme, I need not worry about my GIF graphics that have been processed with my copy of Paint Shop Pro.
If anyone needs to pay, it's my ISP—where I store all my pages and images.
Does this coincide with your research?
Clint Bradford
Attention to Details
For the Record, Jasc's Public Statement:
Dear Jasc Software product user:
Jasc Software, Inc. has secured a license with Unisys Corporation to use its patented LZW compression technology in the TIFF and GIF image file formats. This license covers the demo, evaluation and licensed/registered versions of Jasc's software. By using Jasc products you are assured of using a product that is in compliance with Unisys' LZW patent.
Jasc has secured a license from Unisys to permit you to use Jasc products from a network server if you acquire a site license for that product from Jasc.
You may create GIF and TIFF images using a registered copy of a Jasc Software product. You may then post those images on a Web page. According to Mark Starr, General Patent and Technology Counsel for Unisys, if the GIFs on your Web site were created with software that is licensed by Unisys (for example, a registered copy of Paint Shop Pro), your use is legal.
