VR Toolbox (877/878-6657, https://www.vrtoolbox.com ) has won a legal battle with Roundabout Logic over the rights to QuickTime VR (QTVR) authoring programs sold by the former as VR PanoWorx and VR ObjectWorx. Under the terms of a recent settlement, Roundabout Logic, which offered the same software under the respective names Nodester and Widgetizer, will no longer offer either of those programs. VR Toolbox will assume technical-support responsibilities for Nodester and Widgetizer and also plans to offer upgrades to its own versions.
Nodester, used to create QTVR panoramas, and Widgetizer, used to make QTVR object movies, were originally written by Econ Technologies, a Florida programming shop, and published by Panimation and later Roundabout Logic. In 1998, Econ sold the rights to both programs to a new company called VR Toolbox. Roundabout Logic sued, claiming that it had exclusive rights to the software; VR Toolbox and Econ countered that Econ was free to sell the rights to another publisher. VR Toolbox is a subsidiary of Emery Manufacturing and Equipment, a manufacturer of QTVR object rigs. In addition to VR PanoWorx and VR ObjectWorx, VR Toolbox offers VR SceneWorx for creating multinode QTVR movies, and The VR Worx, a bundle of all three programs.
Roundabout Logic has issued a statement acknowledging VR Toolbox’s ownership of the software. The company failed to return calls seeking additional comment.
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