Re: GIF support in the GD library.
| From: | Chris Adams | Date: | Thu, 06 Jul 2000 18:46:43 +0000 |
| Subject: | Re: GIF support in the GD library. | ||
| References: | 1 2 3 | Groups: | php.general |
| Request: | Send a blank email to php-general+get-5262@lists.php.net to get a copy of this message | ||
> It really would be nice if the support was put back in to the GD library.
It
> is obvious that there are ways around the Unisys legal problems.
Personally,
> I feel that GIF support would be worth exploring those paths.
Unfortunately, there is no workaround. Unisys waited until GIF had been in
use for many, many years before attempting to charge royalties on the LZW
patent. They originally allowed free software to use the algorithm (1995)
but revised this in 1999. Basically, their licensing terms and open source
licenses are mutually exclusive. The other problem is that use of unlicensed
software (e.g. gd) on your website means that Unisys will come after you
(the site owner) for money as well.