# To subscribers of the xforms list from Peter S Galbraith <p.galbraith@globetrotter.net> :
Angus Leeming <angus.leeming@btopenworld.com> wrote:
> I seem to remember reading that reading gif files does not infringe the LZW
> patent but that writng them does. However, I'm hazy about this. Does anyone
> out there know anything about this?
That's correct. You are free to decompress such data, but can't use the
compression algorithm to create files without using the patent.
Debian is full of software that can read Gif. For example:
http://packages.debian.org/stable/libs/libungif4g.html
This is a shared library for working with GIF images.
The libungif library is a specially modified version of giflib which
is free of the Unisys LZW patent. It can read all GIFs, but only write
uncompressed GIFs. If you need to be able to write compressed GIFs,
you can install the non-free giflib packages instead (which may not be
available on CD).
Peter
_________________________________________________
To unsubscribe, send the message "unsubscribe" to
xforms-request@bob.usuhs.mil or see
http://bob.usuhs.mil/mailserv/xforms.html
XForms Home Page: http://world.std.com/~xforms
List Archive: http://bob.usuhs.mil/mailserv/list-archives/
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Apr 04 2003 - 20:57:09 EST