Re: Latest UNISYS LZW patent nonsense -- $5,000 for every web site

[Philip Hands <phil@hands.com>]

Matthew Vernon <matthew@debian.org> writes:

> I think they're able to extract money from people who _create_ gifs (hence
> the GNU site being covered with "no gifs due to patent problems); how they
> intend to proove you created the gifs on your website rather than getting
> them from somewhere else is the interesting bit.

Perhaps we should set up a <gif-me-up-baby@nonus.debian.org> robot,
to which you send a bitmap, and it sends you the matching gif back.

Since the patented algorithm would have been executed in the free
world, where we've not yet been foolish enough to recognise software
patents, they wouldn't have much to say about it.

You could then save the two emails as proof that you'd not executed
their patent in the USA.

Cheers, Phil.