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atari.st/long.msgs #413, from cglawley, 6155 chars, Jan  15 21:48 95
Comment to 397. Comments.
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I found this which seems to be pertinent

chris :-)

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gif/chatter #3188, from spex, 5957 chars, Jan  9 09:19 95
This is a comment to message 3177.
There are comments to this message.
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Here is Unisys' statement:

January 6, 1995

Unisys Clarifies Policy Regarding Patent Use in On-Line Service
Offerings

The concerns, inquiries and some apparent confusion that have resulted
from  the December CompuServe advisory clearly indicate that we need to
clarify  our policy concerning the use of the Unisys Lev Zempel Welch
(LZW) patent by  software developers for the major on-line services.

We want to reiterate earlier communications that the issue of patent
licenses is not focused on the end users of on-line networks, including
the  Internet.  We encourage end users to continue to take full
advantage of the  outstanding benefits of a rapidly growing on-line
community.

Unisys was awarded the patent in 1985.  We became aware of the
increasing  interest in our LZW patent beginning in 1990 when many
companies approached  us to license the patent for their hardware and
software products.  The  growth in the use of compression technology
was mushrooming in order to meet  the demands for transmitting
increased amounts of data.  To date, more than  100 companies,
including hardware, software and on-line information  services, have
licensed the Unisys LZW technology.

Two years ago, Unisys learned that the LZW method was incorporated in
the  GIF specification and immediately began negotiations with
CompuServe in  January of 1993.  We reached agreement with CompuServe
on licensing the  technology in June 1994, which calls for CompuServe
to pay Unisys a royalty  of 1% of the average selling price it charges
for its software.  This  represents approximately 11 cents for each
copy sold and connected to its  information service.

Under the agreement, CompuServe, at its discretion, could relicense the
LZW  technology to commercial developers using the GIF specification in
software  that connected directly to the CompuServe information
service.

With the agreement completed on June 21, 1994, CompuServe was given six
months to implement the terms of its license.  CompuServe later asked
for a  one-month extension, which we granted.

Unisys did not require CompuServe to pass on any fee to its
sublicensees or  end users.  Such a decision, and the content and
timing of CompuServe+s  advisory, was at their discretion.

Consistent with the entire information industry+s desire to protect
intellectual property, Unisys will expect all of the major commercial
on-line information services companies employing the LZW patent to
license  the technology from Unisys at a reasonable rate.  The on-line
service  companies are not required to sublicense the technology to
developers  producing software for the commercial on-line services. It
will be, as it is  today, at the on-line service+s discretion as to
whether it charges a  license fee to developers or chooses an
alternative method to account for  its licensing fees payable to
Unisys.

We recognize and are concerned --  thanks in large part to the recent
and  very active use of the on-line network -- that developers did not
understand  that the patented technology was resident in GIF.  Taking
that into account,  Unisys does not intend to pursue previous
inadvertent infringement by  versions of GIF-based software products
marketed prior to 1995.

Concerning all future software product development and enhancement of
existing products for accessing on-line services, Unisys expects
developers  of commercial, for-profit software to secure a license from
Unisys, or  through the licensed on-line service, for the use of the
patented  technology.  The very reasonable terms should prove no
financial barrier to  the introduction of product into the on-line
network.

Unisys does not require licensing, or fees to be paid, for
non-commercial,  non-profit GIF-based applications, including those for
use on the on-line  services.

Concerning developers of software for the Internet network, the same
principle applies.  Unisys will not pursue previous inadvertent
infringement  by developers producing versions of software products for
the Internet prior  to 1995. The company does not require licensing, or
fees to be paid for  non-commercial, non-profit offerings on the
Internet, including +Freeware+.


Commercial developers of GIF-based software for the Internet are
expected to  secure a licensing agreement with Unisys for software
products introduced  beginning in 1995, or enhancements of products
that were introduced prior to  1995.  Again, terms should not preclude
the entry by these firms into the  marketplace.

For organizations introducing World Wide Web servers and +Home Page+
offerings, most will not be required to secure a license from Unisys.
Most  organizations acquire software from other developers to create
their  offerings on their servers.  Therefore, only the software firms
who sell the  enabling software for profit would be expected to secure
a licensing  agreement from Unisys.

Unisys understands that this issue has caused concern.  We want to
reassure  all users and developers that we are strong proponents of the
on-line  industry.

 We+re proud that this important Unisys technology has played a role in
the  introduction of innovative products and services, many of which
are fueling  the explosive growth of the information superhighway.

As members of the information community we want to strike the
appropriate  balance between information access and the rights of all
information  companies, including the developers of software, to
protect their  intellectual property rights.

Patent information:  Contact Welch Patent Licensing Department; Unisys;
Mail  Stop C1SW19; P.O. Box 500, Blue Bell, PA 19424.

Or via Internet, send E-mail to LZW_INFOUNISYS.COM, or use a form
available  on the Home Page of the Unisys Web Server
(http:\\www.unisys.com) to request  follow-up information.


Media contacts: Unisys Public Relations -- Bob O+Leary     (215)
986-6413
                            or Oliver Picher (215) 986-5367


