.dwg

On November 13, 2006, Autodesk sued the Open Design Alliance alleging that its DWGdirect libraries infringed Autodesk's trademark for the word "Autodesk", by writing the TrustedDWG watermark (including the word "AutoCAD") into DWG files it created.[21] Nine days later, Autodesk's attorneys won a broad and deep temporary restraining order against the Open Design Alliance.[22] In April 2007, the suit was settled, essentially on Autodesk's terms, with Autodesk modifying the warning message in AutoCAD 2008 (to make it somewhat less alarming), and the Open Design Alliance removing support for writing the TrustedDWG watermark from its DWGdirect libraries. The effect of the temporary restraining order and subsequent consent decree was to render the Open Design Alliance's DWGdirect libraries, from one point of view, incapable of creating DWG files that are 100% compatible with AutoCAD Unsubstantiated claim.. Others point out that the failure of "100% compatibility" means only that loading such a drawing triggers an essentially irrelevant warning message when the file is opened in AutoCAD.[23]

In 2006, Autodesk applied for registration of US trademarks on "DWG",[24][25] "DWG EXTREME",[26] "DWG TRUECONVERT",[27] "REALDWG",[28] "DWGX",[29] "DWG TRUEVIEW".[30][31] As early as 1996, Autodesk has disclaimed exclusive use of the DWG mark in US trademark filings.[32] Out of these applications, only TRUSTEDDWG has been registered as a trademark by the USPTO. The REALDWG and DWGX registrations were opposed by SolidWorks. The DWG EXTREME, DWG TRUECONVERT, and DWG TRUEVIEW trademark registration applications all received substantial resistance, with the USPTO examining attorney requiring Autodesk to disclaim exclusive use of DWG as a condition for their registration.

In a non-final action in May 2007, the USPTO examining attorney refused to register the two DWG marks, as they are "merely descriptive" of the use of DWG as a file format name. In September 2007, Autodesk responded, claiming that DWG has gained a "secondary meaning," separate from its use as a generic file format name.[33]

As of June 22, 2008, all of Autodesk's DWG-related trademark registration proceedings were suspended by the USPTO, pending disposition of trademark opposition and cancellation petitions Autodesk had filed against the Open Design Alliance and Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation. The USPTO office actions notifying Autodesk of this noted that Autodesk was not the exclusive source of files with the format name DWG, and Autodesk does not control the use of DWG by others, either as a trademark or as a file format name, among other points.

In 2006, Autodesk filed an opposition with the USPTO to the trademark registration of DWGGATEWAY by SolidWorks.[34] Autodesk subsequently filed a petition for cancellation of SolidWorks' trademark registration for DWGEDITOR.[35] In both cases, Autodesk's basis was that they had "been using the DWG name with its CAD software products since at least as early as 1983." The opposition and cancellation actions were consolidated, and suspended pending disposition of Autodesk's US District Court suit against SolidWorks.[36]

In early 2007, Autodesk petitioned the USPTO to cancel the Open Design Alliance's "OpenDWG" trademarks, claiming that they had been abandoned.[37] This cancellation action was suspended pending disposition of Autodesk's US District Court suit against SolidWorks.[38]

In 2008, Autodesk sued SolidWorks in US District Court, arguing that through its marketing efforts, the term "DWG" has lost its original generic meaning and taken on a secondary meaning referring specifically to Autodesk's proprietary drawing file format, and therefore any use of "DWG" in competitive products amounted to trademark infringement.[39] In January 2010, on the morning that trial was scheduled to begin, Autodesk and SolidWorks settled the suit, with SolidWorks acknowledging Autodesk's trademark rights for DWG, surrendering its trademark registrations for its DWG related projects, and withdrawing its opposition to Autodesk's DWG-related trademark registrations.[40]

In April 2010, Autodesk and the Open Design Alliance settled their suit, with the Open Design Alliance agreeing to cancel its DWG-based trademark registrations and cease use of DWG and DWG-based trademarks in its product marketing and branding.[41] Because there was no adjudication in either case, the agreements between the parties are not binding upon the USPTO. In March 2010, the Office of the Deputy Commissioner for Trademark Examination Policy at the USPTO determined that evidence submitted by the Open Design Alliance two years earlier was relevant and supported a reasonable ground for refusal to register DWG as a trademark.[42]

In June 2011 the USPTO issued a final refusal[43] to register DWG as a trademark owned by Autodesk. They were quoted as saying:[44]

DWG is merely descriptive of applicant's goods under Section 2(e)(1) of the Trademark Act for two reasons: (1) DWG is a recognized abbreviation for "drawing," and (2) .dwg is a file format used for computer-aided design (CAD) drawings made both with applicant's CAD software and others' CAD software.

Autodesk appealed the decision. The USPTO affirmed in 2013 their refusal to recognise DWG as a trademark.[45] Despite this, Autodesk websites still claimed DWG as a trademark after the decision.[46]

In late 2014 Autodesk again lost, this time at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The judge dismissed all their arguments.[47]

In 2015 Autodesk's website has a section title About DWG[48] in which they try to make a distinction between .dwg as a file format and the DWG technology environment.