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The GIF Format is Finally Patent-Free

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the happy-birthday dept.

tonymercmobily writes "Not many people noticed that the GIF file format is only now free from patents, as of the 1st of October 2006. Quick recap: first in 1999 Unisys tried to extort money from users and developers. Then, in 2003 the world hoped that the saga would finally be over. Then, in 2004, it was IBM's turn. Now, the SAGA seems to be over for real! Does anybody find Unisys' page on GIF as hilarious as I do...?"

1 of 369 comments (clear)

  1. Hilarious? USPTO is Hilarious by eldavojohn · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Does anybody find Unisys' page on GIF as hilarious as I do...?
    What's so hilarious about it? It plainly states that the patents have expired and that they have more patents based on the technology. I find it sad that their legal department found that necessary.

    What I find genuinely hilarious, however, is the United State of America's Patent System.
    --
    My work here is dung.