Autodesk and ASSIMILATE Announce Settlement

SAN RAFAEL, Calif - Autodesk, Inc and ASSIMILATE, Inc. announced an agreement to settle a pending lawsuit for copyright infringement brought by Autodesk’s subsidiary, Autodesk Canada Co., against ASSIMILATE.

The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware, was based on Autodesk Canada’s purchase of the intellectual property, including copyright interests, in a software program called Cyborg from an English company, 5D Solutions, Ltd. The Cyborg software provided digital compositing, color correction and various editing and art functions for the post production and visual effects industry. The lawsuit alleged that ASSIMILATE’s software program, known as SCRATCH, infringed Autodesk Canada’s copyright in the Cyborg software.

The parties have now settled the dispute. ASSIMILATE acknowledges that it used code and design elements from Cyborg in its SCRATCH product. ASSIMILATE apologizes for such use.

Pursuant to the parties’ settlement agreement, ASSIMILATE has made a quitclaim of its rights in Cyborg to Autodesk Canada and has received a perpetual license back from Autodesk Canada for use of that code and those design elements and a release for any past use of that code and those design elements. Other terms of the settlement are confidential.