GRAPHISOFT AWARDED PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION AGAINST DIEHL GRAPHSOFT, INC.
In a move to protect consumers of CAD software, the US District Court, Northern District of California, has granted Graphisoft¨, developers of Archicad¨ CAD software for Macintosh and Windows operating systems, a preliminary injunction against Diehl Graphsoft, Inc. preventing Diehl Graphsoft from using the name, “Graphsoft,” alone without identifying itself as Diehl Graphsoft, Inc. in any packaging, advertising, brochures, letterhead, “internet domain names or any other published documents whether written or in electronic form.”
According to the order issued by the US District Court on May 30, 1996, “(Diehl Graphsoft) shall be prohibited from using, distributing or publishing any press releases and advertisements which do not use the word ‘Diehl’ in similar size and type of print immediately preceding any use of the word ‘Graphsoft,’ or bear the words ‘Diehl Graphsoft, Inc.’ in close proximity to any use of the word ‘Graphsoft’ and in size and type of print which is easily visible.” Diehl Graphsoft is also responsible, according to the Court, to instruct “all of its distributors, dealers, resellers, and other similarly situated persons and entities that they are similarly forbidden and obligated.”
“Maintaining a clear distinction between our companies is fair to the customer who might think that the same company was manufacturing both Archicad and Diehl Graphsoft’s software, MiniCad,” states Gábor Bojár, President of Graphisoft. “Both Archicad and MiniCad began as Macintosh products, however, Archicad began shipping on Windows in late 1993. With MiniCad’s expected arrival on Windows this summer, confusion is expected to increase, so Graphisoft felt compelled to protect its investment in establishing the Graphisoft name among Windows customers and to protect those customers from the confusion of two CAD software companies with similar names but dissimilar products.”
The preliminary injunction is effective immediately, and will remain in effect until the case moves to trial or a settlement is reached. The order does not prevent Diehl Graphsoft from shipping the Windows version of its software, since its packaging already displays its full name, but advertising, brochures, directory listings, internet domain names, and other promotional materials will have to be changed immediately.
Background about Graphisoft
Graphisoft, developers of Archicad CAD software for Macintosh and Windows operating systems, was founded in 1982 in Budapest, Hungary. Today, Graphisoft is one of the premier developers of architectural CAD software and employs approximately 120 people in five offices worldwide. Its flagship product, Archicad is distributed in more than 80 countries and 19 languages. A privately held company, Graphisoft reported 1995 worldwide sales of $15M with pre-tax profits of $4.5M.
Graphisoft was active in the United States as early in 1984 and applied to register its trademarks in the US in 1986 (registration was received in 1988). Between 1986 and 1988, the trademarks, “Graphisoft” and “Archicad,” were registered almost worldwide. Graphisoft and Archicad are now registered trademarks of Graphisoft R&D Software Development, Rt.
Graphisoft is a leading provider of computer-aided design (CAD) software
solutions for the architectural profession and the building industry.
Founded in 1982, Graphisoft is ranked today among the largest AEC CAD
software developers in the world, with 12 offices all over the world in
addition to its headquarters. Graphisoft’s flagship product, Archicad, is
used by more than 75,000 architects worldwide and distributed in 25
languages and 80 countries. Shares of Graphisoft are traded on the Frankfurt
Stock Exchange Neuer Markt under the symbol GPH. More information about
Graphisoft is available at www.graphisoft.com.