Additional PDF Musings

Anyone may create applications that can read and write PDF files without having to pay royalties to Adobe Systems; Adobe holds patents to PDF, but licenses them for royalty-free use in developing software complying with its PDF specification.

There are many alternative PDF applications and online tools for creating, editing, and filling out pdf files. Some are free and some are paid, For the UC System, all applications should be on the list of UC Davis Approved Software.