Autodesk fights SolidWorks over DWG

CADalyst, Nov-Dec, 2008 by Kenneth Wong

Autodesk has unleashed its legal eagles against SolidWorks for what it considers unfair use of the DWG file extension. In the complaint Autodesk filed in September (viewable at www.autodesk.com/ solidworks), the AutoCAD guardian accused SolidWorks of "unfair competition, false designation of origin, false advertising, trademark dress infringement, unfair business practices, deceptive business practices, unlawful business practices, misleading advertising." The company feels, "through a variety of improper tactics designed to mislead consumers and undermine the value of the Autodesk and DWG brand and technology, DS [Dassault Systemes] SolidWorks is unfairly competing with Autodesk."

Among evidence cited was SolidWorks' use of "a product naming strategy for certain [SolidWorks] CAD software products that use the DWG name ... DWGeditor, DWGgateway, DWGseries, DWGviewer, and DWGnavigator." Furthermore, Autodesk is also trying to block SolidWorks from using a yellow border around its Real Solutions logo, a design that, in its view, "combines the 'real' element of Autodesk's RealDWG program and tagline with the distinctive trade dress found on the Autodesk Inventor packaging."

Online discussions of the topic reveal many CAD users don't find this argument convincing. Paul Waddington, a frequent contributor to CAD-related forums, observed, "First and foremost, here in Australia, DWG and DRG were recognized by design professionals as abbreviations for the word drawing loooong before Autodesk existed and used .DWG as a file extension in its products." For more, read "Autodesk to SolidWorks: Play Fair," at my blog, Kenneth Wong on CAD (www.cadalyst.com/kw).