LIBDON@BYUVM.BITNET (02/12/91)
Are there any copyright proctections on the use, distribution, or display of GIF images ? Can I use GIF files, or parts of them within my own software packages ? If so - what restrictions are there ? If anyone has any pertinent information I would appreciate it. Don Merrell LIBDON@BYUVM.BITNET
dce@smsc.sony.com (David Elliott) (02/15/91)
In article <91042.104502LIBDON@BYUVM.BITNET>, LIBDON@BYUVM.BITNET writes: |> |> Are there any copyright proctections on the use, distribution, |> or display of GIF images ? Can I use GIF files, or parts of them |> within my own software packages ? If so - what restrictions are |> there ? If anyone has any pertinent information I would appreciate |> it. What you are asking isn't clear. If you are asking whether or not it is OK to distribute your own images in GIF format, I don't think there's a problem with that. I don't believe that CompuServe has placed any restrictions on the format or code that reads or writes it. If they have, it will be news to a lot of people. On the other hand, if you are asking whether or not it is OK to distribute GIF images that you pick up from some random place, the answer is "probably not". I'm not a lawyer, but I believe that it would be a copyright infringement for me to ship a picture of, for example, the Simpsons in GIF format with a product, just as it would be a copyright infringement for me to include the same picture in a book. In other words, image files of any format are just like photographs and photocopies. Most people don't generally get into any trouble shipping these items around, but you can get sued. Recently, I put together a number of programs and images into a package for viewing and modifying images on our workstations. I ended up using a set of images for which we had specifically acquired the rights or redistribution. While the images are quite nice, there are other images out there I would have liked to have used, but couldn't determine the copyrights on. Maybe what we need is a repository of images that are known to be free and clear. -- ...David Elliott ...dce@smsc.sony.com | ...!{uunet,mips}!sonyusa!dce ...(408)944-4073 ..."His lower lip waved poutily with defiance..."