🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <36DBEA81.DC99B8FB@visual-design.com>, root
<caroli@visual-design.com> wrote:

> I plan to write a postscript-interpreter (like ghostview) for a
> commercial product. Does anybody know, if I have to expect any legal
> problems (eg. paying rents, copyright limitations)?

At the very least, you will be required to license the right to
encode/decode LZW compressed data from Unisys. Because you are working with
PostScript, it will cost you significantly more than it would otherwise.
That has been our experience, in any event.

Not a lawyer,
Darrin

-- 
Darrin Cardani

In article <none-ya02408000R0203990909430001@nntp.news.netcom.net>, 
none@nospam.spam says...
>
>In article <36DBEA81.DC99B8FB@visual-design.com>, root
><caroli@visual-design.com> wrote:
>
>> I plan to write a postscript-interpreter (like ghostview) for a
>> commercial product. Does anybody know, if I have to expect any legal
>> problems (eg. paying rents, copyright limitations)?
>
>At the very least, you will be required to license the right to
>encode/decode LZW compressed data from Unisys. Because you are working with
>PostScript, it will cost you significantly more than it would otherwise.
>That has been our experience, in any event.

We give our OEMs the option of generating an `invalidaccess' error if a page 
description attempts to open an LZW filter.  I've never seen a real-world page 
description that uses LZW -- it may be possible to coax photoshop into 
producing such a file, but I've never tried....

More interesting these days is finding a patent-free way of doing colour 
managment or halftoning:-)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Ian Kemmish                   18 Durham Close, Biggleswade, Beds SG18 8HZ, UK
ian@five-d.com                Tel: +44 1767 601 361
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Behind every successful organisation stands one person who knows the secret
of how to keep the managers away from anything truly important.

Darrin Cardani <none@nospam.spam> wrote:
>In article <36DBEA81.DC99B8FB@visual-design.com>, root
><caroli@visual-design.com> wrote:
>> I plan to write a postscript-interpreter (like ghostview) for a
>> commercial product. Does anybody know, if I have to expect any legal
>> problems (eg. paying rents, copyright limitations)?
>
>At the very least, you will be required to license the right to
>encode/decode LZW compressed data from Unisys.

AFAIK (IANAL) a license is only needed to encode LZW. And the compression
gzip uses (LZ?) works better, and is not patent encumbered.

Ray
-- 
UNFAIR  Term applied to advantages enjoyed by other people which we tried 
to cheat them out of and didn't manage. See also DISHONESTY, SNEAKY, 
UNDERHAND and JUST LUCKY I GUESS.     
- The Hipcrime Vocab by Chad C. Mulligan  

caroli@visual-design.com <caroli@visual-design.com> wrote:
>I plan to write a postscript-interpreter (like ghostview)

Ghostview is not a postscript interpreter, it is merely a viewer on top of
ghostscript which does the �ostscript interpretation.

>for a commercial product.

"commercial product" does not necessarily imply "proprietary software". It
may well be possible for you to base your work on GNU ghostscript, provided
you abide by the terms of the GNU General Public License); see
http://www.fsf.org/philosophy/ .

>Does anybody know, if I have to expect any legal problems (eg. paying
>rents, copyright limitations)?

PostScript is AFAIK a trademark of Adobe, so if you want to term your
product a "PostScript interpreter", you probably need to negotiate some kind
of agreement with Adobe. Of course, you can follow ghostscript's example,
and not claim that the language you're interpreting is PostScript (TM).

HTH,
Ray
-- 
UNFAIR  Term applied to advantages enjoyed by other people which we tried 
to cheat them out of and didn't manage. See also DISHONESTY, SNEAKY, 
UNDERHAND and JUST LUCKY I GUESS.     
- The Hipcrime Vocab by Chad C. Mulligan  

root wrote:
> 
> Hello everyone!
> 
> I plan to write a postscript-interpreter (like ghostview) for a
> commercial product. Does anybody know, if I have to expect any legal
> problems (eg. paying rents, copyright limitations)?
> 
> Ciao!
> 
> Christian
As for Ghostscript (I don't know the details for ghostview), you have
to negotiate a license with Artifex Software Inc., at <info@arsoft.com>.
The royalties for incorporating Ghostscript into a commercial 
product depend mainly on
- the percentage of Ghopstscript in the whole product
- the estimated number of saled copies.

Helge 

-- 
H.Blischke@srz-berlin.de
H.Blischke@srz-berlin.com
H.Blischke@acm.org

root <caroli@visual-design.com> wrote:

>Hello everyone!
>
>I plan to write a postscript-interpreter (like ghostview) for a
>commercial product. Does anybody know, if I have to expect any legal
>problems (eg. paying rents, copyright limitations)?

I hope you have set aside at least 3 years for the project!
----------------------------------------
Aandi Inston  quite@dial.pipex.com
Visit http://www.quite.com/ for info on PostScript, 
PSAlter, psalters, tea, and small furry animals. And stuff.  

In article <36DF396E.5178@srz-berlin.de>, Helge Blischke
<H.Blischke@srz-berlin.de> wrote:

> As for Ghostscript (I don't know the details for ghostview), you have
> to negotiate a license with Artifex Software Inc., at <info@arsoft.com>.
> The royalties for incorporating Ghostscript into a commercial 
> product depend mainly on
> - the percentage of Ghopstscript in the whole product
> - the estimated number of saled copies.

Although, in one product we sell, we have an option to use Ghostscript if
it is available, but we don't supply it. We tell the users where they can
get it, and how it can help. Depending on what you're doing, this may be an
option. (Although probably not for the original poster who wants to write a
RIP.)

Darrin

-- 
Darrin Cardani