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  • January 1996
  • Case
  • HBS Case Collection

Outrage in Cyberspace: CompuServe and the GIF Patent

By: Josh Lerner and Benjamin Conway
  • Format:Print
  • | Pages:31
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Abstract

CompuServe, an online services vendor, informs its software developers that they must enter into a licensing agreement to use the popular GIF compression. CompuServe claims that it is forced to do so because Unisys is enforcing its patent rights in this area. Others argue that CompuServe's move is a response to the growing competitive challenge posed by the Internet.

Keywords

Patents; Technological Innovation; Internet; Information Technology; Competitive Strategy; Search Technology; Web Services Industry

Citation

Lerner, Josh, and Benjamin Conway. "Outrage in Cyberspace: CompuServe and the GIF Patent." Harvard Business School Case 296-057, January 1996.

About The Author

Josh Lerner

Entrepreneurial Management
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