News and Media
Fugitive From Justice (Web Techniques, Dec 1999), Pigdog Journal (Laughable Technology) -- Unisys Is, Unisys Demanding License Fees, Unisys Not Suing (most) Webmasters for Using GIFs
Burn All GIFs
Information on upgrading a web site from the patent-encumbered GIF format to freely available graphics.
GIF Economy: A Cautionary Tale
Article on the GIF controversy seen from a software developer's perspective. Includes original interviews, a historical perspective, up-to-date information and a detailed bibliography.
Graphics Interchange Format
Original specification describing the file layout as originated by CompuServe. Also known as Gif87a.
Graphics Interchange Format
Provides detailed specification of file layout, encoding and decoding algorithm, and color space model for gif89a.
The gif2png Home Page
The program converts files from the Graphic Interchange Format to Portable Network Graphics. The conversion preserves all graphic information, including transparency. The program can recover data from corrupted GIFs.
Unisys/CompuServe GIF Controversy
League for Programming Freedom (LPF) page on the Unisys patent controversy.
US4558302 Patent
The US patent covering the LZW compression algorithm used in GIF images.