Short:        Personal GIF I/O Library
Uploader:     info@cloanto.it (Cloanto Italia srl)
Author:       info@cloanto.it (Cloanto Italia srl)
Type:         biz/cloan


CLOANTO PERSONAL GIF I/O LIBRARY

Following the recent Aminet release of the latest versions of
Personal Paint and ColorType, we received numerous inquires as
to the legal status of the GIF I/O library, which was not included
in the Aminet distribution of the two packages.

While we are not allowed to upload GIF/LZW code to a worldwide
free medium such as Aminet, we would like to remind all Amiga users
that on December 30, 1994, we publicly stated that:

   ... As far as the rights which Cloanto owns
   are concerned, Cloanto hereby places its
   "personal_gif_io.library" in the public domain...

The Personal GIF I/O Library allows both Personal Paint and ColorType
to load and save GIF images and animations. The library file can be
stored either in "PPaint:libs" or in "LIBS:".

The latest version of the library is

   File name: personal_gif_io.library
   File size: 12824 bytes
   File date: 29-Dec-94 23:35:28
   Version  : 5.4 

If you have Personal Paint installed, running

   Version PPaint:libs/personal_gif_io.library

should return

   Personal GIF IO Library 5.4

If you have an earlier version of the library, you can update it
using the "AnimGIF_Update.lha" patch, which is available for free
distribution on Aminet. The patch itself mainly adds improved support
for GIF animation features, and does not contain any "GIF/LZW" code.

As far as the rights owned by Cloanto are concerned, Amiga users are
free to share the Personal GIF I/O Library. At the same time, we
would like to stress that the GIF/LZW technology contained in the
library is claimed to be patented in several countries (including
the United States of America, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany,
Italy, France and Japan) by Unisys Corporation and by other companies.
This situation is not expected to change at least until June 2003,
when the first patents are set to expire. Before copying, emailing or
putting the library online, you should carefully ponder the legal
implications of doing so. In case of doubt, we suggest that you contact
Unisys Corporation, who owns the "GIF/LZW Patent", or your own legal
counsel.

Cloanto itself is only distributing the library in commercial packages
such as Amiga Forever, for which it pays royalties to Unisys Corporation.
Cloanto is not distributing the library in any other way.

This unmodified text file can be freely redistributed.

For additional information on this topic you may want to refer to:

   http://cloanto.com/users/mcb/19950127giflzw.html