WorldCAD Access

Autodesk chuckles at SolidWorks' fear-mongering

In the papers filed by Autodesk with the courts on Dec 29, the company laughs at the claim by SolidWorks that Autodesk wants to monopolize the use of .dwg as a file extension:

Autodesk submits that its own statements and the Court’s Order mean simply what they say and nothing more: SolidWorks and any other party can use .dwg as a file extension when needed to achieve interoperability with the DWG format defined by Autodesk, and Autodesk has not attempted to state claims against such acts as they are functional uses of the letter string DWG.

I've highlighted a phrase that could be read two ways: the DWG format as historically defined by Autodesk (and reverse engineered by anyone), or as licensed by Autodesk through its APIs only.*

Further, Autodesk accuses SolidWorks' parent Dassault Systemes of hypocrisy for wanting to trade mark the SAT file format, at the same time calling SAT "a de facto industry standard." Oops.

At the end, Autodesk's lawyer argues that SolidWorks wants the world to create versions of DWG that are incompatible with AutoCAD, and Autodesk does not want this to happen. This is an odd argument, for AutoCAD-incompatible .dwg files already exist (c.f. Generic CADD).


*) It does appear that my second definition is the more likely one: Autodesk is alright with competitors using .dwg files as long as they license APIs from Autodesk. Autodesk ceo Carl Bass has said his company will license its APIs to "everyone," but this doesn't cover the case of those who do not wish to pay licensing fees to Autodesk -- licensing fees that were lowered to match those of the ODA, and that might skyrocket should Autodesk be successful in shutting down the ODA.

SolidWorks accuses Autodesk of attempting to monopolize use of .dwg as file extension

I am reading through an action brought by DS SolidWorks against Autodesk this week. (A second one was filed by Autodesk, and I'll report on its contents later.) In it, I read of Autodesk's lawyer's response to the judge, who very clearly asks if Autodesk intends to monopolize the use of .dwg for file extensions.

Naturally, SolidWorks is pointing out that .dwg was used before and during AutoCAD's existence by CAD programs that are unrelated to AutoCAD, such as Generic CADD.

SolidWorks seems to be warning the court that Autodesk is willing to allow two classes of programs to continue using .dwg as a file extension: incompatible programs and third-party applications (including competitors who license DWG APIs from Autodesk, I would think).

A third class should, in Autodesk's mind, be prevented, such as IntelliCAD, ODA, and SolidWorks -- these are compatible competitors who musts be blocked. This is my initial reading...

Update

To clarify the above paragraph, it appears that Autodesk wants to consider use of DWG by competitors as trademark infringement. Here is the argument SolidWork's lawyer is making:

1. Autodesk employees stated in deposition that .dwg file compatibility is binary -- either it is perfect or it is not. (Comment: compatibility is not binary, and I don't know if the Autodesk employees misspoke or if SolidWorks misinterpreted the meaning.)

2. CAD programs using ODA or other non-Autodesk APIs write .dwg files that are not perfectly compatible. (Comment: it could be argued that Autodesk's non-AutoCAD software also produces .dwg files that are not perfectly compatible.)

3. The imperfect compatibility would allow Autodesk to sue all the companies for trademark infringement, because "their use is not functional in the a trademark sense," according to SolidWorks. (Comment: at this point, I have lost the trail of logic.)
 
The SolidWorks lawyer goes on to point out that trademark ownership is more powerful than any other legal remedy. A patent on the DWG format would run out in 20 years, but a trademark is forever.

Is Autodesk Inching Towards DWG Monopoly?

The document filed by SolidWorks includes an excerpt from the judge's discussion with Autodesk's lawyer, in which the judge expresses his fear that Autodesk is attempting to create a monopoly.

Said the judge to the lawyer: "If you are trying to monopolize .dwg, you and your company are in big trouble." 

Judge undecided on use of puffery by SolidWorks

Autodesk is accusing SolidWorks of overusing its registered trademarks (AutoCAD and Autodesk) in advertising. The judge quickly found that it is okay for SolidWorks to refer to AutoCAD and Autodesk in its ads.

The judge found, however, that he was unsure if SolidWorks was overusing the two names, because a competitor can only use as much of a registered trademark as is reasonably necessary to identify it; and SolidWork's ads must not contain anything that might imply Autodesk endorses the claims made by the ads.

Any Version of DWG

Autodesk accuses SolidWorks of false advertising when SolidWorks says that its software saves to "any version of AutoCAD software." The claim is indeed false. Anyone familiar with the history of CAD knows that no software from SolidWorks saves to the file format used by AutoCAD v1.x. So let's see what the judge thinks:

SolidWorks used the defense of puffery to avoid the charge of false advertising. Puffery is alright if the claim doesn't fool the consumer. (Makes me think of all the press releases that claim the vendor is the leader in its field.) For instance, almost no one in the CAD industry needs to save drawings to AutoCAD v1.x format.

The judge had to decide if the claim of compatibility was false or puffery. In the end he decided the claim of "any version" could be tested (ie, is not a subjective untestable statement, like "more effectively") but that he did not have enough evidence to decide -- although he suspected that "any version" is false.

 Thus, two marketing claims by SolidWorks will go to trial: "DWGgateway is the first free data translation plug-in that lets AutoCAD users work easily with DWG files created by any version of AutoCAD software" and "save DWG files to any version of AutoCAD software."

The judge found that a third marketing statement by SolidWorks was puffery: "DWGseries is a set of FREE software tools created for current and former AutoCAD users to open, edit, and share DWG data more effectively with others."

Judge agrees that orange rectangles are generic

Judge William Alsup also ruled on Autodesk's silly lawsuit against SolidWork's use of an orange-colored rectangle and the word "real."

In short, he found that Autodesk could not prove that an orange rectangle its trade dress. (Trade dress is the distinctive text, colors, and/or pictures on boxes and other containers in which products are sold.)

In long, Autodesk claimed primary and secondary trade dress on the orange rectangle and the word "real."

Primary is when the trade dress identifies the source of the product, or distinguishes it from other products -- like Tide's bright orange box and distinctive blue and white name.

Secondary is when the buying public associates the trade dress with the producer, rather than the product -- like Proctor & Gamble's use of the Tide color and font with its Tide to Go stain remover pen. (The examples are mine.)

The judge found that Autodesk failed to produce sufficient evidence that (1) the mark was distinctive and (2) that SolidWorks deliberately copied it. Instead, he found the opposite:

• Autodesk had used a variety of colors, sizes, and aspect ratios of rectangles on its products; it did not consistently use a single instance of the rectangle. 

• Autodesk could show only two instances of using the orange rectangle with the word "real," both briefly in video clips; it did not use them repeatedly on one or more products and marketing campaigns.

• Even if Autodesk had shown the judge that it used the trade dress repeatedly, the judge found previous case law that held that a rectangle is too simple a geometric shape to be considered trade dress.

• The judge also found that the word "real" is generic to the CAD industry. "'Real' is a common place term in the CAD context. It refers to a user's ability to get a real-world visual image of a design, the whole point of CAD technology."

• Autodesk's infrequent of use of the trade dress meant it could not win the secondary meaning.

• SolidWorks did show the judge that they did not copy the dress from Autodesk: "[SolidWorks] found its design to be different from plaintiff's and thus decided to move forward with its design thereby potentially showing a good faith attempt to ensure its design was not identical to plaintiff's."

I am dismayed that Autodesk would throw money at lawyers and waste the court's time over this triviality. I get the feeling the judge is unimpressed also, writing "...plaintiff [Autodesk] can dredge up only two instances where the orange frame is used in combination with the real element." Dredge, indeed.

The judge also reprimanded Autodesk's lawyer:

At oral argument, [Autodesk's] counsel significantly overstated the record on supposed "copying." On appeal, please be more candid in presenting the record.

This was Autodesk's second run at wresting away orange rectangles from SolidWorks. The judge noticed that an earlier order found that Autodesk's claim was unclear, and that Autodesk then changed its claim against SolidWorks from "trade dress infringement" to "false designation of origin" but then provided no new facts.

Judge orders that the trademarketness of DWG go to jury

In Autodesk's law suit against SolidWorks over the use of DWG in product names and marketing, judge William Alsup rules:

There are genuine issues of material fact as to whether DWG is generic. Both sides will have to try and convince a jury. 

If the jury finds that DWG is generic, then Autodesk cannot register it as a trademark in the USA. The judge found sufficient arguments for both sides that he could not decide.

Even if the jury finds that DWG is non-generic, competitors are free to use the .dwg file extension, Autodesk vows:

Plaintiff  [Autodesk], however, expressly disavows any ownership of "any even arguably functional use of DWG", including the use of DWG as a file extension. Put differently, anyone is the world is free to use .dwg as a file extension as far as Autodesk is concerned. Thus, there is no concern that plaintiff will obtain a monopoly over the .dwg extension and prevent its use in the industry.

OpenSCAD is an external-history solid modeler

OpenSCAD is a 3D solid modeler that isn't interactive; instead, it reads a script file and then generates the visual of the 3D model using CSG [constructive solid geometry]. 

Here is an example of a script file (sourced from en.wikibooks.org/wiki/OpenSCAD_User_Manual/First_Steps):

difference() {
     cube(30, center = true);
     sphere(20);
}

translate([0, 0, 30]) {
     cylinder(h=40, r=10);
}

Objects are created at the origin, and then are translated into position. In the code above, the 30x30x30 cube is centered on the origin (0,0,0); if center = false, it would be located in the first octant (lower left corner of the box is at 0,0,0). Cubes also create rectangular boxes. 

Other objects, such as the 20-unit sphere, are always centered on the origin. The 10x40 cylinder is moved up to 0,0,30. Cylinders also create cones.

Also available are other transformations (rotate, scale, etc), Booleans, and calculations, such as trig, vector and scalar math. The debug modifier (#) renders removed objects in transparent pink, useful for debugging.

Extrusions

A second modeling method is available: OpenSCAD reads DXF files, and then applies extrusions (thickness) to 2D objects. (The program also reads and writes STL and OFF files.)

What is the good of a script-driven CAD system? It externalizes the history, aka the designer's intent. The drawback to all history-based CAD systems (starting with Pro/E onwards) is that the history is proprietary, internal to the model, and cannot be exported. 

Through using scripts, the "history" becomes open, external to the model, easily shared.

openscad.org

Google has a 3D plugin for multiple Web browsers

O3D is Google's 3D plug-in and API for Web browsers. While Google's demos seem to target non-CAD applications, O3D can be used for CAD, as this description shows:

The O3D library provides drawing primitives for creating shapes directly within your application (point list, line list, triangle list, triangle strip, triangle fan).

As an example, O3D provides sample code to show how you could import content from a COLLADA file. This sample COLLADA Converter imports content from content creation applications such as Autodesk 3ds Max, Maya, and Google SketchUp...

More information here at code.google.com/apis/o3d/docs/techoverview.html

From December 1995, the oldest press release in my electronic records

A reader was wondering if I had any press releases from the original IntelliCADD company (before it was purchased by Softdesk). I might, but if I did, they would be locked away in my long-abandoned CompuServe account.

I wondered which might be the oldest press release in my electronic archive, going back to when I first got onto the Internet. (I still use Eudora as my email client, and its Press Release folder now contains 15,696 press releases going back to December 1995.)

The first one was from Cadkey (now Kubotek USA) from the days when they still owned DataCAD (now independently owned). The contents are interesting enough that I reproduced the entire text below -- except for phone numbers and email addresses, since they are no longer valid.

N e w s   R e l e a s e         

For Immediate Release                           

CADKEY, INC. UNVEILS NEW "SOFTWARE PUBLISHING" BUSINESS STRATEGY

        Windsor, CT--(December 15, 1995)--Cadkey, Inc., pioneer in 3D PC CAD, has unveiled a new "software publishing" business and distribution strategy that will dramatically extend its reach into new markets. Through a combined punch of accelerated new product introductions, mass market pricing, and expanded distribution, Cadkey intends hopes to expand the market for Computer-Aided Design (CAD) and related software to include many new business, professional and consumer users. 

ACCELERATED NEW PRODUCT INTRODUCTIONS AND OEM AGREEMENTS KEY TO NEW STRATEGY

        Multiple product offerings will play a key part of Cadkey's new marketing strategy, according to President and CEO Livingston Davies. "We plan to offer CAD and related software titles developed by Cadkey and other companies. Over the next few months we will release more than ten CADKEY and related software titles. The keys to Cadkey's new positioning as a publishing house are popular prices and increased software selection for the worldwide, enterprise-wide engineering office environment." Mr. Davies noted that Cadkey, Inc. intends to keep developing software for its traditional AEC and mechanical markets, as well as reach out to new types of users.

        To support the accelerated product rollout schedule, Cadkey has more than doubled its product development staff through its use of off-shore, outsourced software development. 

        OEM agreements will also play a key role in Cadkey's strategy to offer multiple software titles. The company has just signed an OEM contract with HighRES, Inc. of La Jolla, California. The product, HighRES, is a system for generating a 3D surface model of a physical object, such as a doll's face. HighRES will impact a wide variety of industries, from manufacturing, to industrial design, to virtual reality, to 3D effects for motion pictures.

        Other new products, such as DataCAD 7.0 (a professional level architectural CAD package), Cheapware-CD (tools for DataCAD users), Plan Designer (CAD for the home craftsman), and the CADKEY 3D Display List will all ship before the end of the year. Cadkey intends to focus its development on the Windows 95 and NT operating systems.

MASS-MARKET PRICING

        Cadkey, Inc. pioneered 'mass market' pricing of professional, industrial-strength CAD products 20 months ago, when it dropped the price of its flagship CADKEY and DataCAD products from thousands of dollars per copy to a few hundred dollars per copy. Cadkey's total unit sales increased by a factor of seven when the company re-priced its products in line with other Windows business software. In the last year CADKEY's user base has increased over 50%.

        Cadkey intends to further increase market share by lowering the price of its first CADKEY 7 for Windows Release, version 1 from 795 to U.S. $495. This version is ideal for general purpose CAD applications, such as creating technical illustrations. The current version (Cadkey 7 for Windows version 2) includes additional modules for drafting and surfacing, and will remain at U.S. $795.

EXPANDED DISTRIBUTION

        Cadkey plans to expand its Value-Added-Reseller channel and is actively recruiting VARs and Corporate resellers. According to Davies, broad availability of Cadkey's products is a services revenue opportunity for VARs. "Support, training and consulting services offer the best profit margin to VARs. Typical VARs often make 70% or more profit on services. CADKEY is committed to providing products that will allow a VAR to maximize his profitability by providing opportunities for high-margin corollary services".

        The VAR channel will be supplemented with retail, direct mail and Internet distribution. According to Davies, Cadkey will develop more customers that can be turned over to the VAR channel by offering low-end products through 'mass marketing' channels. For example, a low-end version of its DataCAD product (called PlanDesigner) is now sold in selected Home Depots for $49.00. The company expects that the Internet may become a viable distribution channel in the coming year, especially for software updates. Some Cadkey products can currently be ordered directly through its World Wide Web page.

NEW OEM OPPORTUNITIES

        CADKEY's low cost, easy-to-use developer's tools and large user base (195,000) should attract new third party developers and OEM arrangements. CADKEY supports CADKEY LISP and Cadkey Dynamic Extensions  (CDEs). Developer kits can be obtained by calling Cadkey or downloaded from Cadkey's Web page: http://www.cadkey.com.

BACKGROUND

        Cadkey, Inc.'s award-winning CAD products are some of the most widely used and highly acclaimed professional software programs available today. Cadkey, Inc. has sold its products to over 250 of the Fortune 1,000 list of companies. With over 240,000 installations worldwide, it is the third largest supplier of Mechanical CAD PC software (Daratech 1993).

        CADKEY is optimized for 2D and 3D mechanical design, drafting, 3D solids and surface modeling, and engineering analysis. CADKEY software is used by industrial designers, mechanical designers and technical illustrators in a wide range of industries and applications. Products designed with CADKEY software include aircraft, automobiles, trucks, medical products, naval vehicles, satellites, consumer products, apparel, furniture, toys, sporting goods, and electronic products. CADKEY 7 for Windows version 2 retails for $795.

        DataCAD software is ideal for 2D and 3D Architectural, Engineering and Civil design and rendering applications. DataCAD is used by professional architects, interior designers, builders, remodelers, as well as a growing 'do-it-yourself' home user market.  Some products designed with DataCAD software include structural blue prints, interior designs, landscaping, accident reenactments, TV and set designs, graphics designs and more.  DataCAD products are ready to use right out of the box. DataCAD 7's list price is $249.95. 

        All products are sold with a 45-day money-back guarantee and 30 days free technical support. Software may be purchased from authorized dealers or directly from Cadkey by calling 1-800-394-2231.

        Cadkey, Inc., with headquarters in Windsor, Connecticut, develops, manufactures, and markets productivity-enhancing software worldwide. Cadkey's home page address (Universal Resource Locator) is: http://www.cadkey.com.

-###-

CADKEY is a registered trademark of Cadkey, Inc. Microsoft is a registered trademark and Windows, Windows 95, and Windows NT are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

The complacency of subscription income

All large CAD vendor yearn to have all customers on subscription or maintenance. That gives the vendors regular paycheques, and tends to lock in customers for one more year. 

(There was some resistance towards renewals from some customers during the recent recession, but vendors fought back by pointing out that fewer subscribers at one site meant lower discounts and higher costs to the customers.)

Yesterday, I wrote about Google's J Rosenberg's insight that...

Complacency is the hallmark of any closed system. If you don't have to work that hard to keep your customers, you won't.

The purpose of subscriptions is to blinker the customer, allowing the vendor to operate in a closed, monopoly-like environment. A friend working at a mechanical design firm tells me his company is paid up to SolidWorks 2010, but continues to use 2007.

The complacency of subscription income could endanger the future of CAD.

Talking guardedly about being open

Google senior vp of product management Jonathan Rosenberg writes four thousand words about the pros and cons of open and closed systems:

...eventually innovation in a closed system tends towards being incremental at best (is a four blade razor really that much better than a three blade one?) because the whole point is to preserve the status quo.

Complacency is the hallmark of any closed system. If you don't have to work that hard to keep your customers, you won't. (The Meaning of Open)

Of course, there is open and there is open. Take openness at upFront.eZine and WorldCAD Access. Both of these publications take data from a variety of sources, repurpose it, distribute it, and somehow make money from the process.

The entire process is open: everyone has the same access to most of the data as we do (press releases, financial conference calls, and so on), everyone has access to free blog hosting and email distribution, but not everyone wants to.

That's the parts that remain proprietary: desire and ability. The desire to research and write up topics that concern the CAD community, and the ability to process the information, turning it into something valuable enough to profit from.