I can get sued using the Vb picturebox ?????

[mike31]

whoa,

there's some pretty disturbing disclaimers in the MSDN network HTML helpfile for the picturebox and image controls. It says that these controls use GIF/LZW technology which is patented (in part) by Unisys and that if you use them (for profit) then you better get a license from Unisys or else. The Unisys website is even scarier with stories about companies getting sued for infringement.

I even e-mailed Unisys about using the Line and Pset methods on a picturebox and they said I need a license to do that ?? What?

Anybody else get served by Unisys about selling an app or control that contains a picturebox or image control ?

Thanks in advance.. (very confused)

 

[MissouriTiger]

Funny, I just noticed the same thing today. Naturally, Unysis is gonna tell ya you have to buy a license, cuz they want your money. I wonder if they have actually won any of the lawsuits? This might partially explain why so few applications use images in their forms.

 

[JohnStep]

I just used JPG to avoid the whole problem period. If this is not an option. You could always write to Unisys (I thought it was Bell Labs though) and ask for one. A fellow programmer did and he received the right for nothing. They just wanted to know.

John Stephens