雙方已就未決的訴訟達(dá)成有約束力的和解
廣州中望龍騰軟件股份有限公司、中望龍騰設(shè)計(jì)有限公司、香港中望龍騰軟件有限公司和 GLOBAL FORCE DIRECT, LLC. (以 ZWCADUSA 的名稱經(jīng)營(yíng)) (合稱“中望軟件”)與歐特克有限公司已經(jīng)同意和解在海牙和加州北區(qū)聯(lián)邦地區(qū)法院的未決的訴訟。
歐特克于2014年2月19日在荷蘭海牙提起了訴訟(案號(hào)C/09/460412/KG ZA 14-178)，并于2014年3月 26日在加州北區(qū)聯(lián)邦地區(qū)法院提起了訴訟(案號(hào)14-cv-1409-EJD)。歐特克在這些訴訟中指稱 AutoCAD源代碼被盜用并被不當(dāng)用于ZWCAD+的開發(fā)。
中望軟件最初否認(rèn)了這些指控，但后來的調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn)事實(shí)上一名員工在開發(fā)ZWCAD+時(shí)不當(dāng)使用了AutoCAD 知識(shí)產(chǎn)權(quán)，并對(duì)中望軟件管理層團(tuán)隊(duì)進(jìn)行了隱瞞。中望軟件與歐特克密切合作以評(píng)估和糾正對(duì)歐特克知識(shí)產(chǎn)權(quán)的不當(dāng)使用。了解到相關(guān)事實(shí)后，中望軟件在所有市場(chǎng)上停止了ZWCAD+的銷售。
中望軟件的首席執(zhí)行官杜玉林代表中望軟件就中望軟件使用歐特克知識(shí)產(chǎn)權(quán)一事進(jìn)行了道歉。杜先生表示：“我們非常尊重每家公司的知識(shí)產(chǎn)權(quán)，我們不能容忍在中望軟件有這些行為。我們已經(jīng)在全部市場(chǎng)停止銷售 ZWCAD+，而且我們收回先前關(guān)于歐特克的訴訟缺乏依據(jù)、是為了打壓競(jìng)爭(zhēng)的說法。我們真誠(chéng)地就我們的行為所造成的不便向歐特克表示道歉?！倍畔壬€說：“我們非常感謝歐特克在調(diào)查過程中展現(xiàn)的專業(yè)和諒解，以及對(duì)于公平競(jìng)爭(zhēng)的鼓勵(lì)。我們將加強(qiáng)內(nèi)部管理，通過實(shí)施進(jìn)一步的開發(fā)保護(hù)措施防止今后知識(shí)產(chǎn)權(quán)侵權(quán)的發(fā)生?！?/span>
雙方已就未決的訴訟達(dá)成有約束力的和解。歐特克亞太區(qū)高級(jí)副總裁Patrick Williams解釋說：“我們感謝中望軟件在我們調(diào)查我方知識(shí)產(chǎn)權(quán)使用過程中的開放態(tài)度和協(xié)助，我們也感謝中望軟件在友好解決事件中給予的配合。隨著中望軟件重新發(fā)布其ZWCAD Classic產(chǎn)品以及繼續(xù)產(chǎn)品開發(fā)活動(dòng)，我們期待持續(xù)的和充滿活力的市場(chǎng)競(jìng)爭(zhēng)?！?/span>
購(gòu)買了ZWCAD+ 產(chǎn)品的用戶可聯(lián)系中望軟件免費(fèi)更換ZWCAD Classic版本。過去幾個(gè)月中望軟件投入了大量的工程資源開發(fā)新版本。新版本ZWCAD 2017預(yù)計(jì)于2016年春季發(fā)布。
ZWSoft Enters Into Global Settlement with Autodesk
ZWCAD Software Co., Ltd., ZWCAD Design Co., Ltd., HK ZWCAD Software Ltd., and GLOBAL FORCE DIRECT, LLC. (doing business as ZWCADUSA) (collectively, “ZWSoft”) and Autodesk, Inc. have agreed to settle lawsuits pending in the Hague and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
Autodesk had filed suit before the Hague in the Netherlands on February 19, 2014 (Case No. C/09/460412 / KG ZA 14-178) and in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on March 26, 2014 (Case No. 14-cv-1409-EJD). In these lawsuits, Autodesk alleged that the AutoCAD source code had been misappropriated and improperly used when developing ZWCAD+.
Although it initially denied the allegations, ZWSoft’s subsequent investigation revealed that an employee had, in fact, improperly used AutoCAD intellectual property when developing ZWCAD+ and concealed it from ZWSoft’s management team. ZWSoft and Autodesk worked closely to assess and remedy the inappropriate use of Autodesk’s intellectual property. Upon learning these facts, ZWSoft stopped selling ZWCAD+ in all markets.
On behalf of ZWSoft, ZWSoft’s CEO, Truman Du, has apologized for ZWSoft’s use of Autodesk’s intellectual property. According to Mr. Du: “We respect every company’s IP very much, and we do not condone these behaviors at ZWSoft. We have stopped selling ZWCAD+ in all markets, and we retract all prior statements suggesting that Autodesk’s lawsuits lack merit and were brought for anti-competitive purposes. We sincerely apologize to Autodesk for the inconvenience that our actions have caused.” Mr. Du added: “We appreciate very much Autodesk’s professionalism and understanding during the investigation, as well as its encouragement of fair competition. We will enhance our internal management to prevent any intellectual property infringement in the future by instituting additional development safeguards.”
The parties have entered into a binding settlement to resolve their pending lawsuits. Autodesk’s Senior Vice President for the Asia Pacific Region,
Patrick Williams, explained: “We appreciate ZWSoft’s openness and assistance with our investigation into the use of our intellectual property, and we are grateful for ZWSoft’s cooperation in resolving this matter amicably. With ZWSoft’s release of its ZWCAD Classic product and continued product development, we look forward to continued and robust competition in the marketplace.”
End users who purchased ZWCAD+ may contact ZWSoft for a free replacement version of ZWCAD Classic.
Over the past several months, ZWSoft has devoted significant engineering resources on a new version. The new version, ZWCAD 2017, is expected to be released in the spring of 2016.（來源：BIM中國(guó)網(wǎng)）
