By Owen Wengerd on Friday, November 21, 2008 11:10 AM

In a filing last week, DS SolidWorks argues for dismissal of Autodesk's lawsuit. The documents filed with this motion to dismiss are voluminous, and include extensive citations to other cases. This indicates that SolidWorks has decided to invest the necessary resources to defend themselves.

SolidWorks claims that Autodesk is using this lawsuit to "bludgeon" SolidWorks and to achieve the results it was unable to achieve via the US Patent and Trademark Office. Their basic argument is that Autodesk does not own the "DWG" and "real" marks, therefore it has no standing to claim injury from SolidWorks' use of those terms. With regard to Autodesk's claims of unfair business practices and false advertising, SolidWorks argues that Autodesk has not stated why the statements are false, and that in any case the statements in question are not actionable because they are mere "puffery& ... Read More »

By Owen Wengerd on Monday, November 03, 2008 6:09 PM

According to a proposed settlement order filed on Friday, Autodesk and Tim Vernor have agreed to settle Vernor's "Second Claim" for unfair and deceptive practices. In the settlement, Vernor agrees to drop his demand for a declaratory judgement that Autodesk has no right to interfere with Vernor's sale of Autodesk software, and his demand for an injunction prohibiting Autodesk from further interference. In exchange, Autodesk agrees to pay actual and punitive damages, attorney's fees, and "such other relief as the Court finds appropriate".

Essentially Vernor got everything he wanted, as the court's previous order denying Autodesk's motion to dismiss is almost as good as an injunction. By settling this secondary claim for a relatively small amount, Autodesk can now focus its resources& ... Read More »