[Old Airplane Driver]

The legal status is that Unisys owns the patent to the compression algorithm used in GIF files. If you run a business and either display or output GIF files from your software, you must license the algorithm from Unisys. Even when you buy image processing libraries for use in software development, GIF output is disabled until you get a license key from Unisys. Unisys has ample legal capacity to stop any small company in its tracks -- all they have to do is file a law suit. The problem for small companies is that Unisys demands a "prepayment" of royalties of $25,000 no matter how small you are. That is a show-stopper for a small company and mine, for example, simply can't use GIF for that reason.

On the upside, PNG is a public standard and has more features than GIF, JPG, and TIF put together. Most of the browsers and graphics programs already handle it, so it is easy to switch. Since Forgent has apparently been formed for the sole purpose of "mining" the JPG patent, they may just be the force that is needed to get everyone over to a free public standard.

Here is an example of a PNG. See if it displays in your browser:

[Still Using Air]

Yes, the image comes up. However, for dialup connections, a 256K file takes a LONG time to display. I ran this quickly thru 'Save for Web' in Photoshop, and it can be 'shrunk' to a 40K file that displays quickly on dialup, and looks the same.
I design sites, and have to take this into consideration.

[Semi Civil Servant]

PNG coming through, blue and true.

[Don Joe]

"Even when you buy image processing libraries for use in software development, GIF output is disabled until you get a license key from Unisys."

I don't think that's universal. I've seen something in the licensing for my copy of Visual Studio 6 that was quite convoluted, but what it boiled down to as best as I can recollect at the moment is that while Microsoft indeed paid a license fee so that they could legally include .GIF functionality in the product, developers who use the product would need to negotiate any necessary agreements with Unisys on their own if they wished to use any .GIF functionalty.

But, I don't believe that anything was disabled pending any third party agreements.

I don't doubt that smaller companies might not be willing to risk offending Unisys by selling working versions of their software, but as far as MS, that doesn't seem to be a factor.

That said, I never bothered looking into any of it, because I don't have any need for .GIF files. In fact, I despise them almost as much as I despise those accursed Flash ads that work overtime to annoy and distract. At least an animated GIF eye-poker can be stopped in its tracks by hitting the Esc key or the Stop button. Those &$*#& Flash ads have to be either scrolled offscreen, or covered with another window -- if you want to be able to read the content on the page without flashing lights aimed in your face.