Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

Graphics Interchange Format
     
         /gif/, occasionally /jif/ (GIF, GIF
        89A) A standard for digitised {images} compressed with the
        {LZW} {algorithm}, defined in 1987 by {CompuServe} (CIS).
     
        Graphics Interchange Format and GIF are service marks of
        {CompuServe} Incorporated.  This only affects use of GIF
        within Compuserve, and pass-through licensing for software to
        access them, it doesn't affect anyone else's use of GIF.  It
        followed from a 1994 legal action by {Unisys} against CIS for
        violating Unisys's {LZW} {software patent}.  The CompuServe
        Vice President has stated that "CompuServe is committed to
        keeping the GIF 89A specification as an open, fully-supported,
        non-proprietary specification for the entire on-line community
        including the {World-Wide Web}".
     
        {Filename extension}: .gif.
     
        {File format (ftp://peipa.essex.ac.uk/ipa/info/file-formats)}.
     
        {GIF89a specification
        (http://asterix.seas.upenn.edu/~mayer/lzw_gif/gif89a.html)}.
     
        See also {progressive coding}, {animated GIF}.
     
        (2000-09-12)