By Owen Wengerd on Wednesday, July 11, 2007 6:04 PM

A member of this site alerted me to this case at the TTAB (Trademark Trial and Appeal Board): http://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/v?qs=75429699

In short, Autodesk wants the TTAB to cancel the "OPENDWG" trademark currently registered to the Open Design Alliance (there are actually six different registrations being contested, all for the same mark). You can read the filings directly on the USPTO web site. The original petition is here: http://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/v?pno=92047002&pty=CAN&eno=1. The parties are currently in the discovery phase, with testimony to begin Novermber 16, 2007, and to continue until February 29, 2008.

The January 18, 2007 filing date of this petition indicates that it was done just as the trademark infringement lawsuit was ge ... Read More »

By Owen Wengerd on Tuesday, April 03, 2007 6:08 PM

As anticipated, a settlement [50] between Autodesk and ODA was approved today by presiding judge Marsha J. Pechman. The terms of the settlement appear to grant Autodesk most of the relief it sought. The order includes a permanent injunction prohibiting "ODA, its agents, servants, employees, attorneys, and all others in active concert or participation" with ODA from "simulating Autodesk's TrustedDWG technology, including but not limited to the Autodesk watermark and/or TrustedDWG code, without Autodesk's authorization; and from distributing DWGdirect libraries or other ODA software that use or incorporate or simulate Autodesk's TrustedDWG technology or that otherwise insert or mimic the unauthorized Autodesk watermark or TrustedDWG code."

The agreement adds that "For the sake of clarity, the Consent Judgement neither binds nor benefits any ODA member(s) acting on its or their own accord, and not in active concert or participation with ODA." The parties will ... Read More »

By Owen Wengerd on Monday, February 26, 2007 9:03 PM

After nearly a month of no docket activity, Autodesk and ODA attorneys on Friday jointly filed a motion requesting a 30 day stay of proceedings. According to the motion [47], "The parties are now in the process of drafting final settlement documents and are optimistic that this will resolve the matter with finality."

By Owen Wengerd on Friday, January 26, 2007 9:47 PM

In a stipulation filed today [46], Autodesk and ODA asked the court to delay the scheduled February 20 preliminary injuction hearing by an additional month. The reason given for the extension request is to provide more time for discovery of information relevant to the disputed facts in the claims made by both sides.

By Owen Wengerd on Thursday, January 11, 2007 9:26 PM

As expected, Autodesk today filed a motion [43] for a preliminary injunction against ODA to replace the TRO issued on November 22 [21]. The motion repeats claims made during the TRO proceedings, and also includes responses to the ODA counterclaims [42]. In addition, the motion and associated declarations describe how Autodesk, apparently in an effort to address some ODA complaints, has already changed the TrustedDWG web page language and will change language in the TrustedDWG warning dialog box for the next AutoCAD release.

By Owen Wengerd on Saturday, December 30, 2006 1:09 AM

The Open Design Alliance has filed a response [42] to the Autodesk complaint [1]. The response denies most of Autodesk's claims and offers (7) affirmative defenses including a First Amendment defense. In addition, ODA charges Autodesk with (9) counterclaims alleging illegal business practices, concluding with a request for a jury trial.

By Owen Wengerd on Thursday, December 21, 2006 2:32 AM

The court has accepted [36] the revised schedule as stipulated [34], and set a February 20 hearing date to consider a preliminary injunction against ODA. Under the new schedule, ODA must file a response to Autodesk's complaint by December 29.

By Owen Wengerd on Tuesday, December 19, 2006 11:00 PM

In a stipulation [34] filed today, Autodesk and ODA have agreed to a proposed timeline that would push the preliminary injunction hearing to approximately February 19. Also of note is that ODA engaged Fenwick & West, LLP as lead counsel. Read More »

By Owen Wengerd on Tuesday, December 19, 2006 9:30 PM

The court has filed a transcript [35] of the November 22 TRO hearing proceedings. It is a 54 page document, but well worth reading if you're interested in the initial arguments and the nature of the judge's questions. Read More »

By Owen Wengerd on Tuesday, December 19, 2006 2:45 AM

Autodesk has partially withdrawn their previous opposition to the ODA request for a 30 day extension [32]. This follows on the heels of ODA's announcement that they have released all new DWGDirect libraries. Autodesk requests a December 29 deadline for ODA's response to the initial complaint, otherwise this paves the way for the court to approve the 30 day extension that ODA requested on December 7 [28].