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| Newer page: | version 3 | Last edited on Friday, December 19, 2003 1:23:31 am | by AristotlePagaltzis | Revert |
| Older page: | version 2 | Last edited on Friday, December 19, 2003 12:10:02 am | by AristotlePagaltzis | Revert |
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A large, once respected IT consulting company who nowadays seem to dwindle into irrelevance. Apparently they mostly recommend MicrosoftWindows solutions. They earned a huge notoriety with the computing world with their [Submarine Patent | http://www.unisys.com/about__unisys/lzw/] on [LZW] compression. __This patent is no longer an issue - it expired on Fri, Jun 20 2003.__
!! The story goes thus..
-In 1984, Terry Welch, working at [Unisys], extended the LZ78 algorithm with a few simple ideas to make it simpler and more efficient. Following standard procedures, a patent was filed on this new algorithm
dubbed [LZW]. However, it wasn't of any use to
[Unisys]' core business, so they
didn't have much interest in it and
assured anyone who asked that they allowed free use of the algorithm
. Fatally, none of this was ever formally put in contract. When CompuServe, a once large online service, were looking to make moving images across the typical 14k4 [MoDem]s of those days easier, they decided to use this simple, elegant, and efficient algorithm in a new FileFormat for images which they dubbed [GIF]. The format gained popularity quickly and became the defacto standard for publishing images online. Years later, [Unisys] woke up to the fact that not only were a lot of people now using [LZW], but that they were now actually dependent on it, as every other image on the web and then some were in [GIF] format. They realized that their patent on this [Algorithm], being unavoidable as it had become, could make them a substantial amount of money from license fees. At this point, they decided to assert their ownership and cash in on the patent
.
+In 1984, Terry Welch, working at [Unisys], extended the LZ78 algorithm with a few simple ideas to make it simpler and more efficient. Following standard procedures, a patent was filed on this new [Algorithm]
dubbed [LZW]. However, [Unisys] didn't have much interest in it as it wasn't of any use to their core business. They
assured anyone who asked that they allowed free use of the [Algorithm]
. Fatally, none of this was ever formally put in contract.
-Their hypocrisy led to the creation of the [PNG] FileFormat to fill the niche [GIF] traditionally held. It also offers
a lot of new capabilities
. Most websites now prefer
[PNG] over [GIF] files
. However they
have made a lasting impression on the computing world that goes far beyond image formats. People have become very careful to examine whether anything proposed as a new standard is covered by existing patents. OggVorbis is an example of another format that was designed specifically to avoid patented algorithms.
+The patent was almost forgotten by the time CompuServe were looking to make moving images across the typical 14k4 MoDem connections of the days easier. They decided to use the simple, elegant, and efficient [LZW] compression in a new FileFormat for images which they dubbed [GIF]. The format gained popularity quickly and became the defacto standard for publishing images online. It tagged along when the InterNet became big, and hung around for the era of the WorldWideWeb. Every other image on the web and then some was a [GIF] image.
+
+Eventually, [Unisys] woke up to the fact a lot of people had become dependent on [LZW]. They realized that their patent could make them a substantial amount of money from license fees if they asserted their ownership of the patent, because everyone was using it and noone could avoid doing so. At this point they decided to surface and cash in on it.
+
+
Their hypocrisy led to the creation of the [PNG] FileFormat to fill the niche [GIF] traditionally held, including
a lot of features [GIF] had been missing
. [PNG] is now preferred
over [GIF]. However, [Unisys]
have made a lasting impression on the computing world that goes far beyond image formats. People have become very careful to examine whether anything proposed as a new standard is covered by existing patents. OggVorbis is an example of another format that was designed specifically to avoid patented algorithms.
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Part of CategoryCompany
