Today is Burn All GIFs Day
Friday, November 5, 1999

Unisys (blue line on chart), once a well-known computer company, holds a patent on a method of data compression called LZW. Other, much better, methods of data compression are not covered by any patent.

LZW is used in an obsolete graphic format called GIF, which many web sites use in order to be compatible with old web browsers. Unisys is now demanding that web sites pay them $5000 or more to use these now-obsolete GIF graphics if the software originally used to create the GIFs was not covered by an appropriate Unisys license.

The catch is that it appears to be difficult or impossible to get a Unisys license to use LZW in free software that complies with the Open Source Definition or in low-volume proprietary software. gd is an example of a package that can no longer support GIF because of Unisys's LZW licensing terms.

The fact that Unisys was able to patent LZW is due to a flaw in the US patent system that makes even pencil-and-paper calculations patentable. You could violate some US patents just doing the story problems in a math or computer science textbook! The League for Programming Freedom is working to fix the US patent system to harmonize it with those of other, more sensible, countries. In the meantime, Unisys's actions are perfectly legal under US law, so the only reasonable alternative to paying the "Unisys tax" on the web is to upgrade graphics from GIF to PNG format.

Didn't they already settle this?

Unisys has changed their position on GIF licensing (see below) and they can change it again. A very detailed article on the history of GIF is The GIF Controversy: A Software Developer's Perspective

On Burn All GIFs Day all GIF users will gather at Unisys and burn all their GIF files, freeing the web of this annoying patent and this silly, litigious company once and for all. The Unisys/CompuServe GIF Controversy stops now.
 

Burn All GIFs Day will not interfere with the normal course of business at Unisys.
 

The U.S. Department of Defense has proposed mandatory use of PNG instead of GIF for images that require lossless compression, except for animations:

Source: U.S. Department of Defense Joint Technical Architecture (JTA), version 3.0 draft 2, section 2.2.2.2.1.4.2.

Register to download the cited document as a zipped PDF.
 

When it comes to the web, Unisys didn't just miss the boat, they missed the harbor and the ocean. They'll miss the next big thing too. Free and open standards are winning. Win and be happy. Burn All GIFs Day is about getting out of patent problems, not about getting into flame wars.
 

Use gif2png (free, Open Source software) to convert GIF images to PNG images under Linux, Unix, MS-DOS or Microsoft Windows. The gif2png distribution also includes a script, web2png, that can automatically convert an entire website. The script not only converts GIFs, it also patches references to the converted images in HTML and PHP pages.

SmartSaver Pro (for Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows NT 4.0) does batch conversions of GIF files to PNG or JPEG. 15-day trial version available at no charge.

Image-Conversion Applications with PNG Support: other conversion utilities.

Applications with PNG Support: list of browsers and graphics programs that support PNG.
 

This section of the web site will contain contact information for other local organizers, along with links to local Burn All GIFs Day pages.

Subscribe to the burnallgifs mailing list for up-to-date information.

Discuss Unisys in general on Yahoo Finance.
 

Webmasters Push for Switch from GIF (InternetNews.com, 5 November 1999)

Organizers have started a campaign against the fee by creating banner ads urging Webmasters to eliminate GIFs from their sites and using word-of-mouth to spread the word against Unisys. Some protesters are going so far as to physically burn paper copies of GIF files outside Unisys' California office Friday.
Protest organizers said the issue is about open standards, not specifically the GIF format, which is slowly being replaced by other image formats such as the Joint Photographic Experts Group, or JPEG, and Portable Network Graphics, otherwise known as PNG files.

Stor bojkott mot gif (ComputerSweden, 4 November 1999)

Imorgon startar en bojkott där webbutvecklare uppmanas konvertera alla sina gif-bilder till formatet png. Orsaken är bråk kring ett patent.
Gif-formatet bygger bland annat på en typ av komprimering som är patenterad, och det är företaget Unisys som har patentet. Detta har det bråkats om i åratal, och nu brakar det löst igen.

Das Ende der GIFs? (Spiegel Online, 4 November 1999)

Am Freitag "feiert" die Open-Source-Gemeinde des Internet den "Burn all GIFs Day". Nicht, weil die Surfer plötzlich ihre Liebe zu bildlosen Textwüsten entdeckt hätten, sondern weil Patenthalter Unisys für die Nutzung von GIFs Geld sehen will.

Hey Ho, GIFs Must Go! (Atlantic Unbound, 3 November 1999)

Unfortunately, the Patent Office has had few examiners who knew anything about software. Incredibly, it has awarded patents to such simple processes as putting two windows on a screen, putting a cursor in a window in a way that doesn't erase the data beneath, and recalculating the entries in a spreadsheet -- even though all of these processes were developed by others years before the patent holders "invented" them and are sufficiently obvious to be implemented in a few lines of code.

GIF Economy: A Cautionary Tale (sendmail.net, 2 November 1999)

With the US Patent and Trademark Office handing out patents hand over fist, a minefield is being sown that threatens anyone who develops software, with the peril inversely proportional to the developer's clout (translation: access to lawyers and vast heaps of cash). That problem's made worse by the PTO's uncertainty about how prior art (the premise that you can't patent what's already been done) should be applied to computer programs. Their way of dealing with that, apparently, is to give a patent to everyone who asks, then let the courts sort it out - an approach that has corporate legal departments grinning ear to ear, knowing as they do that it's a rare developer who can afford (or stomach) more than 45 minutes of full-on litigation, even though they might ultimately prevail.

Burn All GIFs Day (Windows Magazine, 2 November 1999)

On November 5, webmasters all over the world will convert their sites to eliminate all GIFs. Please join this effort and show Unisys that the net will not tolerate its sleazy attempt at a $5000-per-site shakedown based on the LZW patent
By converting your site on or before November 5th, you will also send a message to hostile software patent-holders that the net will actively resist future attempts to torpedo open-source software with "submarine patents".

Hey, Unisys: Time To Burn All Gifs (Byte.com, 8 October 1999)

In reality, CompuServe was being squeezed through UniSys, which developed the compression technology used in GIFs, and the target of the royalty push was software developers that supported GIF files. So Adobe, Corel, Macromedia, and other vendors coughed up the license fee for the GIF compression, called LZW.

Now it's happening again; only this time, UniSys is taking the direct role and CompuServe is on the sidelines. UniSys is asking Web sites that used graphics programs that don't have an LZW compression license to create their GIFs, TIFF-LZW and PDF-LZW files to pay a one-time license fee, or remove the GIFs.

The fast track to GIF irrelevancy (ZDNet, 13 September 1999)

Unisys is as clueless about free software concepts as any computer company I've ever come across, and they ought to get a taste of what the information technology managers of tomorrow think of them today. But beyond words, the best way to deal with the situation is to move swiftly to make GIFs -- and Unisys -- irrelevant.

Open Source Graphics With PNG (LinuxWorld, 9 September 1999)

My guess is that, since I use the GIMP for image creation and modification and then display the images thus modified on my Web site, it probably does mean me. That's why my Web site is now becoming GIF-free. All new images created for my site are saved using the PNG format. I've had a few complaints from visitors running older versions of Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator because they can't view them, but for the most part, the change has been -- dare I say it? -- transparent to the users.

The Unisys Corporation - A Ship of Fools (metromilwaukee.com, 9 September 1999)

In closing, I do suggest we all write the software developer's [sic] whose products we use and tell them we do not wish them to pay Unisys. Tell them, "Do not pay Unisys one stinking dime"! Tell them we support the removal of the GIF file from their programs and help them understand that we understand that we don't need no stinking GIF file format! Tell them we have all seen the light and will break our nasty habit of using the GIF file format just because it was the quick and easy thing to do. Tell them we realize that it is now as quick and as easy and in fact preferred for all of us to save our images using the PNG file format as it provides all of the benefits that the GIF file format "used to provide" and more, because the PNG file format is in the public domain and can be used by all without paying additional licensing fees.

MacInTouch Reader Reports (MacInTouch, 31 August-2 September 1999)

(This is a selection of comments from professional graphic artists and webmasters about the Unisys patent issue. Very worthwhile reading.

I'm using PNG format graphics extensively in a series of commercial CD ROMs. We almost used GIF format, but when the licensing issue first came up, we decided at that point we didn't want to get involved with it. The public domain PNG code works VERY nicely and the graphics are even slightly smaller than GIF with the same quality.

GIF Unisys the Boot (webdeveloper.com, 31 August 1999)

The latest problem is that Unisys, a formerly large computer company, owns the rights to the LZW compression patent which covers things like TIFF and GIF image formats. If your graphic files are GIFs, and they were created with a program whose creator did not pay a license fee to Unisys, Unisys will be demanding a $5000 license fee from you.

Unisys Not Suing (most) Webmasters for Using GIFs (slashdot.org, 31 August 1999)

If you use GIF graphics created with certain freeware programs, and your chosen program uses LZW compression to create GIFs without a license to use it, you may be violating a Unisys patent. How would Unisys know what software you used to create a particular GIF? Starr says they'll ask you, and, he says, "...assuming we made an inquiry, we would expect a Web site operator to tell us what he used."

Unisys wants $5000 if you use .gifs (UGeek Daily Geek News, 31 August 1999)

Why is Unisys emotional about people not using .gifs? Are they running low on cash? It is quite unprofessional to taunt someone via e-mail and refer to them as "fella" and "big crybaby," just for having them request users not to use a graphics format. Does Unisys expect to convert anyone to their way of thinking in this manner? They come off as big brother attacking a grassroots movement with inane language skills at best.

Brennen GIF-Grafiken? (Linux BBS, 30 August 1999)

Unisys hat das Patent auf den LZW-Algorithmus inne, mit dem in GIF-Bildern die Daten komprimiert werden. Darauf beruft sich Unisys, wenn sie 5000$ von jedem Website-Betreiber verlangen, der auf seiner Site GIFs einsetzt.

LZW Compression Issues (Macintosh News Network, 30 August 1999)

You will never believe this but Unisys is trying to enforce their patent on the GIF/LZW file format. They are requiring a $5000 fee from websites that use the GIF file format for any image. This is regardless of whether the software used to create the image is already licensed. This may sound a bit unbelievable but just check out the detail at the Unisys web site. We for one will be converting our images over to JPEG or PNG in the next few days to protest this type of ridiculous double taxation by such a lame company.

Unisys Is At It Again! (BrowserWatch, 30 August 1999)

...the SYSOPS (the people who ran the BBS's) en mass converted each and every .arc file they had to the new .zip format! It was an amazing thing really. It wasn't 'planned', it just happened. Within six months (or less) every major BBS in the world had killed .arc! Could we see the same thing happen again? I think so! Can you say .png?

Don't Panic About GIFs (evolt.org, 29 August 1999)

It has been pointed out to me by Slashdot user JoeBuck (thanks for the tip) that the link to the Unisys information stating that free software products are not required to pay a royalty is actually old information. Apparently, Unisys are now requiring payment from all software manufacturers, putting the likes of The Gimp in a difficult position. Do they continue to supply their software for free, but fork out the money for a license for LZW compression, or do they drop the gif format from their products? This is perhaps the most heinous part of this whole affair and it remains to be seen how the Open Source community will react.

Unisys Demanding License Fees (About.com, 29 August 1999)

Marti and other knowledgeable webbies say the only reasonable alternative to paying the "Unisys tax" on the web is to upgrade graphics from GIF to PNG format. The only problem with converting is that some older browsers do not support PNG.

Unisys gets greedy (Ars Technica: The PC enthusiast's resource)

Ludicrous corporate bean counters.

Unisys is a Bunch of Retards (Pigdog Journal, 26 August 1999)

Eventually, with this pressure, EVERYONE is going to ditch GIF in favor of PNG. Web folks will stop asking image software vendors to support GIFs, and the software guys won't want to pay the license fees so they'll just stop supporting GIF. Then even people who WANT GIF won't be able to get it. GIFs will disappear!

The Coming Software Patent Crisis: Can Linux Survive? (Linux Journal, 10 August 1999)

As you read the list of "infringements", you can't help laughing, scared as you are. The so-called infringements include procedures which programmers have used for years--maybe decades. Examples? Your program includes a "Save As" command that enables users to save a file with a different name. It accesses information from a central server. You used different colors to differentiate items in a list. You can't believe what you're reading. These are patentable?

The GIF Controversy: A Software Developer's Perspective

"When I reminded [Unisys] of the many freeware products that are out there using the GIF format, [Unisys] said that - and this is a quote - 'just because there are thieves out there doesn't mean that you can act like a thief'."

"For the second time in two years we had to change our plans. I am furious. [Three years ago] CompuServe and Unisys knew about the patent, and did not inform the community, leaving me and others waste our time writing this software. Now the same is happening again: I took decisions last year, based on the public 'clarifications' by Unisys, and now they are just rewriting history as if they never said those things. This feels like Orwell's 1984."

Date: Mon, 30 Aug 1999 08:26:20 -0500
From: Name deleted after some MORONS mailbombed someone else with the same name@unisys.com
Subject: too funny.
To: "'webmaster@burnallgifs.org'" <webmaster@burnallgifs.org>

http://burnallgifs.org/

Is this the only way you've been able to get attention? Competition a bit tough there fella? The article above appears to have been written by a big crybaby.

DO NOT MAILBOMB PEOPLE. Thank you.

(Unisys loves burnallgifs.org, by the way.)

Don Marti
Publicity Director, Silicon Valley Linux Users Group
dmarti@zgp.org
408-205-6313

Nick Moffitt
Editor, Microsoft Windows Refund Newsletter
GNU and Linux professional based in San Francisco
nick@zork.net

Evan Prodromou
Web Activist
evangelo@pigdog.org

Chris DiBona
Editor, Open Sources: Voices from the Open Source Revolution
chris@dibona.com
408-205-6306

Amy Abascal
Web Design Officer, Silicon Valley Linux Users Group
amy@iconoclast.net
408-542-5741

Eric S. Raymond
President, Open Source Initiative
esr@thyrsus.com
610-296-5718