GIF - Format References at GIF.org

The .gif Format

One of the most popular formats is the GIF format. It is an excellent format to compress graphics and images with large areas of the same colour. The GIF format supports transparency and interlacing and you can create animated gifs with a lot of software.

GIFs are now no more protected by patent since the UNISYS Patent expired in the USA on June,20,2003. In other countrys the patent ended mostly 2004.

General GIF Format References

GIF Graphic Specs (technical) W3C Whitepaper about GIF
The GIF Controversy A Software Developer's Perspective
Official Unisys GIF/LZW Info with latest informations about the patent
GIFLIB.org Library Reference

Additional resources

Some additional resources that are quick to read, and easy to understand.

Burn all gifs A protest page against software patents
GIF Summary CompuServe GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) image file format description with useful links
Wikipedia about GIF More information about GIF

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GIF - Format References at GIF.org

The .gif Format

General GIF Format References

Additional resources

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