Judge rules Autodesk's anti-"SolidWorks" cartoons A-OK

Now it's the turn of SolidWorks to complain of false advertising by Autodesk. As the judge put it, "The shoe is on the other foot here."

SolidWorks didn't like a pair of Inventor cartoons Autodesk published which implied that non-Autodesk software produces products with dangerous defects -- specifically a roller coaster and a bicycle. Autodesk claims puffery.

SolidWorks is upset by the fictional company's name, Won'tWorks, together with the headline "A real risk you shouldn't take." Real is in orange, just as in marketing materials from SolidWorks. The ad then claims, "Only Autodesk Inventor can read and write DWG data without the need for translators."

The judge found the cartoons to be nonactionable puffery (ie, unlikely to mislead consumers) because both are an exaggerated "cartoon with an implicit message of hyperbole," and because they warned only of a single general problem, dimensioning:

The only specific statement made by plaintiff [Autodesk] is that its program [Inventor] is the only one that does not need to use a translator and that plaintiff's product allows for accurate communication using the DWG format.

The judge threw out SolidWorks' complaint, noting that SolidWorks' lawyers should have complained about the marketing text surrounding the cartoon, and not the cartoon itself.

Comments

[Dairobi Paul]

I was surveyed by AutoDesk about this cartoon. I now wonder whether it was for legal reasons rather than, what I thought at the time, doing an audience test before publishing the ad/cartoon.

I recall finding the ad/cartoon pretty stupid and not likely to convince anyone of the value of AutoDesk's product nor the lack of value of SolidWorks'product.