• PHENIX had two components, (1) authoring tools and (2) PDM. EADS chose Dassault for CATIA, DELMIA and SIMULIA.
• This is a corporate initiative at the EADS level. Airbus has committed to CATIA, DELMIA, ENOVIA VPM, and SIMULIA for their on-going major programs, A400M, A380, and A350. There are no new airframe programs on the drawing board.

Large aerospace companies choose tools by program (and usually pay for them by program). The ROI to change tools on existing programs is just not there. PTC may see some revenue from this, but it will be a while in coming. This is particularly true given the financial issues at EADS cited in a recent NY Times article.

Here's what I mean. A document posted 28 July is entitled, "Respondent's Opposition to Petitioner's Motion for Leave to Amend Petition for Cancellation." Translated, I think that means "We haven't billed our clients sufficiently."

Seriously, though, and despite the title, the PDF document makes for interesting reading. I get the feeling a different Fenwick & West lawyer is on the case; the text is easier to read and extensively referenced. In short, the ODA's lawyer seems to be saying, 'Autodesk's tactics are getting tiring enough for all their protestations to be thrown out by the USPTO,' such as this sentence page 6:

Autodesk makes these arguments on the basis of its own selective interpretation of deposition's testimony that cannot be given the slightest credence.

And on page 9:

Autodesk has simply failed to read the publically-available documents regarding this issue.

And on page 8:

Such an amendement [by Autodesk] is futile and should not be permitted to waste Respondent's or the Board's time.

Ouch!

The issue here is that Autodesk claims the ODA did not exist in 1998. The upFront.eZine archives for 1998 make for interesting summer reading, since the weekly e-newsletter provided extensive coverage of the founding and subsequent actions of the ODA in 1998. (The 'zine even gets a mention on page 13 of this latest USPTO filing). Some of the ODA's actions back then were outrageous, such as blowing half of the fledging organization's $375,000 initial budget on a single full-page anti-Autodesk ad in the Wall Street Journal that year. 

The ODA laywer is also presenting the question that if Autodesk owned these DWG-related marks for so many years, why did it fail to register them way back then?

Eh? What's That?

On the other side, the ODA does some backtracking by claiming the current ODA president doesn't have English as his first language, and subsequent to a deposition realized he had not understood or answered some questions correctly. And so needed to correct his sworn statements:

...something made plain by the witness' errata...

I've been (unfortunately) in attendance to a disposition (involving my son's car accident). In the Canadian version, at least, there is plenty of time to ruminate, clarify, correct, and pinpoint. This "Oops, I didn't meant that" argument could become a problem for the ODA. But maybe depositions are different in the USA.

The document goes on to extensively rebut Autodesk's claims of the ODA's fraud. We look forward to reading Autodesk's counter-rebuts but are somewhat terrified of the forthcoming document's title -- perhaps, "Rebut to the Rebut to the Rebut, to the Rebut, to the Rebut, to the..."

We also learn for the first time that former ODA president Evan Yares is now giving testimony. Page 11 is a copy of his statement, in which he notes that he communicated regularly with Autodesk executives in the late 1990s, and that they were well aware of the ODA's use of the "OpenDWG" mark.

When you read upFront.eZine's 1998 archives, you learn that Autodesk back then was more concerned with the word "open" than the term "DWG." 

Shhhh

A second document was posted the same day by the ODA's lawyer, but it is titled "Confidential Defendant's Opposition/Response to Motion" and cannot be read. Darn!

He is candid:

Some observers have speculated that Autodesk's support of DGN in AutoCAD will be a net negative for Bentley -- allowing organizations that currently use MicroStation to create DGN files to instead use AutoCAD for that purpose. Of course there may well be some of that, and I suspect that prospect is a motivating factor for Autodesk in this agreement (again, I don't speak for Autodesk.) 

And informative:

For example, we have already begun several projects to better integrate the Bentley Building applications with the various flavors of Revit.

As well as this indication of vigorous competition:

Do not get me wrong -- this agreement does NOT make DGN and DWG equivalent, nor does it make MicroStation and AutoCAD interchangeable. We won't concede for a minute that anyone working in a DGN-based workflow should use AutoCAD, even though they technically could use AutoCAD. The Bentley Marketing department is salivating at the prospect of educating all of those newly-DGN-aware AutoCAD users all over the world of the advantages of the Bentley product suite.

Read it all.

Dassault Systemes SolidWorks Corporation

Ricky Jordon figures everyone will continue to call them "SolidWorks" Corp. I figure on using DS SolidWorks to avoid confusion between the eponymous company and product names.

Mr Jordon also hopes this is a foreshadowing of Catia and SolidWorks being able to exchange drawing files; my guess this is a foreshadowing of SolidWorks dealers selling Catia.

Synchronous Technology applies to 3D modeling only. Therefore, this technology is not included in Solid Edge 2D Drafting.

On another note, however, the user interface for all Solid Edge products (including Solid Edge 2D Drafting) has been brought up to the latest, taking advantage of the Office 2007 look and feel. Note also that Solid Edge 2D Drafting still includes parametric sketching, Goal Seek, and support for developing layouts that can be used in 3D.

Solid Edge 2D Drafting V20 is available from here.

NX has that new-fangled synchronous technology; CAM Express does not. Yet CAM Express is based on NX.

Siemens will later this summer ship an update to CAM  Express, v6.1, where synchtech is added.

• www.siemens.com/nx
• www.siemens.com/plm/camexpress

In Unhappier News

Siemens this week gets ready to sue 11 former CEOs and other former executives for setting up e1.6 billion (US$2.5 billion) worth of kickbacks for foreign contracts between 2003 and 2006. Deutsche Welle reports:

The decision to sue is a first in the normally cozy world of big German corporations where past management errors are usually ignored.

The company is investigating itself internally, is being investigated by Germans, and may face investigation by the US. 

Parametric ceo Richard Harrison said in an interview the contract has the potential to be the single largest deal in the company's 23-year-old history.

... but declined to name a $-number.

Jim Finkle's story, "Parametric Wins EADS deal over Dassault, Siemens", doesn't detail how EADS will use the software. We know that IBM Consulting failed to get the German design team's Catia V4 talking with the French design team's Catia V5 in designing the way-delayed AirBus A380; perhaps this software from PTC is meant to fix the problem?

Objectified is a documentary about industrial design; it’s about the manufactured objects we surround ourselves with, and the people who make them. On an average day, each of us uses hundreds of objects. (Don’t believe it? Start counting: alarm clock, light switch, faucet, shampoo bottle, toothbrush, razor…)

Who makes all these things, and why do they look and feel the way they do? All of these objects are “designed,” but how can good design make them, and our lives, better?

I wonder if any software will be featured... named... cameoed... product placementized?

To be released in early 2009. Details here.

I haven't found any record of patents pending in the USA, but perhaps the patents were/are taken out in the European Union. 

If the patents haven't been registered by now, it may be too late for Siemens PLM Systems, for the USPTO is saying it might not accept software patents anymore -- with an emphasis on the word "might." 

The [US] Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that abstract concepts and mathematical algorithms are not patentable.

You can read more on the uncertain future facing patents on software at Patent Office finds voice, calls for software patent sanity by Timothy B. Lee on ars technia.

Registrant [ODA] has searched its files and storage but could not locate the original certificate of registration. Therefore, because it has been lost, registrant is not providing the original registration certificate to the [USPTO] Board at this time. 

The ODA surrenders "with prejudice", which means Autodesk is barred from bringing an action against the same claim.

Update

The ODA has given up four out of six registrations, meaning they still hold on to it. "Not finding" the originals is a legal tactic by the ODA: in order to give up registration, you have to hand over the original certificates. To grab OpenDWG for itself, Autodesk needs all six canceled; since the originals cannot be found, the registration cannot be fully canceled, and OpenDWG is not available to Autodesk.

"I've got to assume that SketchUp 7 (the rumored newly architect-focused one) is imminent before mid-September," he feels.  It's always a good thing when one of the world's largest non-CAD software companies releases a major update to its CAD software.

As for the September ship date, it could be. Or not. Book publishers sometimes schedule publication dates far in advance and so there is sometimes no relation to the software's ship date. SolidWorks author Matt Lombard was scorned publicly by Amazon because of similar actions by his publisher:

(This is not a photoshop job; I saw the scornful text on Amazon with mine own eyes. The title has since reverted to the proper one.)

I think it's a reaction to the fact that [Dassault is] losing market share and they don't know what else to do about it. Windchill is going to do $420 million in revenue this year, and Matrix is doing $100 million. 

Full coverage in next Monday's upFront.eZine.

The company credits:

• New revenues from CoCreate (acquired last November 30).
• Organic growth (natural growth, excluding acquistions).
• Favorable currency impact (low US$).

Topics include:

• Computer-Aided Design Strong Roots at MIT
• Research in the Second Half of the 1960s
• Civil Engineering Software Development at MIT
• The First Commercial CAD System
• Applicon
• Autodesk and AutoCAD
• Auto-trol Technology
• Bentley Systems
• Calma 
• Computervision
• IBM/Lockheed/Dassault Systèmes
• Intergraph
• Patrick Hanratty and Manufacturing & Consulting Services
• Parametric Technology Corporation
• Structural Dynamics Research Corporation
• Solidworks
• Siemens PLM Software (UGS)
• Tom Lazear and VersaCAD
• Miscellaneous Companies
• Analysis Companies

The ebook is free. Mr Weisberg asks for a donation to the Cancer League of Colorado Foundation (via PayPal). Details here: www.cadhistory.net

His Weblog Autodesk Inventor auf dem Asus Eee PC (German only) also contains a video of Inventor running on the mini-noteook's 7" screen.

• 5 - notepads (you know, pen and paper).
• 1 - Macintosh notebook computer.
• 2 - Asus Eee mini-notebook computers (Linux).

Out of date? Sign of the times? Rage against the Microsoft monopoly? Personal preference based on experience?

This was the first trip on which I relied on the popular Linux-based mini-notebook. It worked well, connecting to the hotel's wired Internet and the wireless Internet available near the Oce office. Email, Web access, note taking, article writing, PDF viewing, Picassa photo processing, ebook sending, movie watching -- everything I need to do on business trips worked on the diminutive machine. Even viewing the PowerPoints provided by Oce was flawless with the OpenOffice software. My fingers quickly adjusted to the small keyboard.

(Only drawback: the spare battery I ordered from Hong Kong arrived the day after I returned from this trip to Chicago, and so I was limited to working just two hours during my four-hour flight. The lack of a CD/DVD drive posed no problem on this trip, since I had ripped movies to a 16GB USB key.)

I asked the other Asus user why he got one: the small size and weight were crucial to him. He bought the cheapest 2G model ($300 or less), because he figures these devices will just keep improving, and then he'll get a better one.

Above: Two Asus Eee mini-notebooks at one press event.

My next trip is to the SolidWorks event in Barcelona in mid-September, and there will be large contingent of editors and bloggers. I know there'll be more Mac users in attendence; it'll be interesting to see what other computers will be hauled along for the long trip. 

One other significant change over the years: PalmPilots and their Windows equivalents are no longer in use.

Above: The OCE Corporate Solution Studio in Chicago.

OCE developed the pearls to better compete with HP, which has a tonne of patents protecting its printing business.

The pearls are blueberry-size waxy spheres that are melted at 300F then squirted at paper.

Above: The CrystalPoint toner-pearls are gravity-fed with an auger inside the cartridge.

The exciting part: anything from CAD wireframes to photographs can be printed on the same plain paper, and there is no waiting for drying.

Above: Randall Newton examines ColorWave output closely.

The ColorWave printer is $60,000 - $70,000, but can be leased for $2,249 a month. The toner cartridges are $400 each.

You can read full coverage of this event in upFront.eZine issue #569.

- - -

[Disclosure: Oce provided airfare, ground transportation, hotel, meals, and some corporate gifts to all attendees.]

June 3: a letter from the EU's trade marks department:

The Office informs you that the above indicated application DWG has been refused on 07/05/2008 (the applicant has a right to appeal against this decision from that date).

I find it fascinating that the decision was made on May 7, and then it took nearly a month to write the letter letting the applicant know.

Another point of interest: the letter is addressed to Autodesk in San Rafael, California, Estados Unidos (De America). Some conspirists might see this as creeping Spanish bi-bilingualism, but the reason for the Spanish spelling is that the office of European trademark department is located in Spain.

July 2: Autodesk's attorney turns down his right to appeal:

The Applicants are no longer interested in the further prosecution of the above-numbered [4703641] application and in the circumstances, it is respectfully requested that the same be treated as withdrawn.

July 8: Opposition closed, and the CTM [community trade mark] is withdrawn. Autodesk's attempt to register DWG in Europe had been challenged by:

• Knowledge Base Software -- on grounds of (1) earlier sign, and (2) right to prohibit use of later TM under national law.
• SolidWorks-- on the grounds of (1) identity of marks, goods & services, and (2) likelihood of confusion.

This EU Web page provides a summary of the status of all DWG-related trademarks being applied for in Europe:

• REALDWG by Autodesk -- unopposed.
• TRUSTEDDWG by Autodesk -- opposed by Safelayer Secure Communications of Spain on grounds of likelihood of confusion, but I found no use of TrustedDWG by Safelayer.

Not that Autodesk is the only trademark victim. SolidWorks is attempting to register:

• DWGGATEWAY -- opposed by Autodesk for likelihood-of-confusion.
• DWGDITOR -- opposed by Autodesk for reasons of (1) earlier non-registered trademark and (2) right to prohibit use of later trademark under national law.

Update

July 3: The day after the first lawyer abandoned the appeal, Autodesk hires new lawyers. Field Fisher Waterhouse sends the EU trademark office the Notice of Appeal.

July 10: EU trademark office says it doesn't care if Autodesk has new lawyers, and is doubtful the appeal can be re-opened:

Therefore, the appeal is likely deemed to be inadmissable.

Nevertheless, the trademark office invites Autodesk to send comments within the next two months.

Earlier, much earlier, Grayson founded Micrografix, a vector drawing package that should have done much better than it did, and was eventually sold to Corel Draw, where it is now packaged under the name of Technical Designer.

As well, Alibre promotes Greg DeMars to vp of marketing. Mr DeMars is the company's former director of business development. "Alibre's vision remains unchanged: to be the clear value leader in the 3D CAD/CAM market," he reassures customers.

I never thought of ComputerVision being ideal for AEC [architecture, engineering, construction] software; the heavy duty piping belies the claim, as well.

As for being "for the 90s," well, CV was purchased by PTC in 1997.