Evan on Engineering Software

Back in 2001, Dassault Systemes came up with a new logo.  At first, I wasn't quite sure what it was supposed to represent -- but I learned that it was a stylized representation of "3DS".

At the time, some wags (me included) pointed out that, with the addition of a single stroke, the logo became "BS" - which has a none-to-positive connotation.  Probably it's a cultural oversight -- Dassault is a french company, and its people might not have known the connotation.
  (Sort of like when IBM named a new series of computers "RS", not realizing that, in Australia, the acronym has a rather unfortunate meaning.) The other thing that I kind of wondered about at the time was how Dassault's use of 3DS was going to play with Autodesk, which had a product called 3DS Max. 

Apparently, it didn't play too well.  Autodesk filed an opposition with the US Patent and Trademark Office on Dassault's trademark registration on the logo. 

Last year, Dassault filed a motion to "redefine" the logo as meaning "DS & Design" instead of "3DS".  The USPTO denied that motion.  Afterwards, Dassault filed a motion requesting a suspension of the proceedings, as they and Autodesk were negotiating a settlement.  That suspension was granted -- however, if there is not a final settlement by June 27, the opposition proceedings will resume.

This all makes interesting reading, but I don't know that it's anything earth shattering, or of real importance to users.  If you go looking through the trademark filings for the large companies in the CAD industry, you'll find a number of oppositions.  For example, Viacom (parent of MTV) opposed Autodesk's registration of DWG UNPLUGGED. (They blew it off subequently, and Autodesk has since abandoned the trademark.)

The most significant thing happening now with respect to trademarks in the CAD industry is Autodesk's claim of DWG as an exclusive trademark.  My guess is that when (and if) the USPTO publishes the DWG trademark for opposition, Autodesk may find themselves deluged with oppositions.

(As a complete aside, I looked up the term "3D", on the USPTO web site, and it is actually a trademark -- for adult incontinence briefs.  Of course, the good news is that the mark hasn't yet been published for opposition.  I'll be interested to see which CAD vendors actually oppose the registration, claiming that the use of "3D" in this manner is confusing to their customers.)