IP: Unisys seeks to squeeze out dollars in patent's last days

[David Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

I have said often in the past and no one seems to care, the fact that 
I developed essentially the same system at Bell Labs in the 60's and 
published it in papers and used it extensively in and out of the 
Labs. No one even asked for more details.

Dave



> Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2000 16:08:04 -0600
> To: Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>
> From: Brett Glass <brett () lariat org>
> Subject: For IP: Unisys seeks to squeeze out dollars in patent's last
>   days
>
> [The licensing of software patents is a tricky business. Due to 
> their excessive duration (which probably should be shortened  from 
> 20 years to 10 or even 7), there is plenty of time for potential 
> licensees to develop alternatives -- so licensing requires care and 
> finesse. Alas, after blasting many holes in the floor, Unisys 
> finally appears at last to have drawn a bead on its foot and is 
> preparing to shoot. -BG]
>
> Patent demands may spur Unisys rivals in graphics market
>
> By Evan Hansen
> Staff Writer, CNET News.com
> April 18, 2000, 12:40 p.m. PT
>
> Unisys is expanding its efforts to license the technology behind the 
> Web's most popular graphics format, as it continues talks with major 
> Internet portals to pay for the right to use so-called GIF files.
>
> The company has successfully licensed its technology for years, but 
> Web developers say it recently has become more aggressive in 
> asserting its GIF patent, called LZW, targeting Web content 
> companies and charging higher licensing fees.
>
> Unisys' head patent counsel, Mark Starr, refused to discuss 
> specifics of his company's licensing deals but confirmed that the 
> company is in negotiations with Yahoo, Disney's Go.com and other Web 
> companies regarding potential licensing for the technology.
>
> "This isn't new," he said, noting that the company began looking at 
> Web content companies in early 1999 and has been in talks with Yahoo 
> for some time. "We have more than 2,000 licensees for this 
> technology. There's been no recent shift in who we're enforcing the 
> patent on."
>
> Neither Yahoo nor Disney responded to requests for comment.
>
> Whether there is anything new to Unisys' strategy, content companies 
> in negotiations with Unisys for the first time may be close to 
> embracing GIF substitutes, partly because of Unisys' licensing 
> demands.
>
> At least one Unisys licensee already has indicated that it plans to 
> limit its use of GIFs, adopting a free alternative known as PNG 
> (pronounced "ping") for distributing graphics files to customers. 
> Accuweather, which sells meteorological data to news outlets and 
> other organizations, said in a memo to its customers on Friday that 
> the switch to PNG will take full effect May 12, although Accuweather 
> will continue to hold the rights to use GIFs on its own Web site.
>
> "We decided to change because it looks like things are going that 
> way," said Brandi Say, the Accuweather customer service 
> representative who authored the memo.
>
> According to one person familiar with the companies' deal, Unisys 
> had requested as much as $3.8 million under one licensing scenario 
> that Accuweather rejected....
>
> See
>
> http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-1713278.html