Budeme platit za programy pouzivajici GIF ?

From: Michal Brandejs <brandejs@INFORMATICS.MUNI.CZ>
Subject: Budeme platit za programy pouzivajici GIF ?
Date: Fri, 6 Jan 1995 13:56:15 +0100
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>Date: Tue, 3 Jan 95 13:27:49 PST
>From: "Peter G. Neumann" <neumann@csl.sri.com>
>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
 
 
 
_________________________________________________________________________
Michal Brandejs          Faculty of Informatics, Masaryk University, Brno
                         brandejs@informatics.muni.cz           Czechland
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