Macromedia has filed a lawsuit in federal court claiming they own the patent to Adobe’s popular image application Photoshop, according to AP .
In addition to Photoshop, Macromedia also claims to own patents for the technology used in Adobe GoLive. According to court documents, Macromedia patented the disputed technologies in 1998.
Macromedia is asking a judge to block Adobe from selling the software and seeking “damages in an amount not yet determined.”
The court battle between Macromedia and Adobe has been going on since August 10, 2000 when Adobe filed a lawsuit against Macromedia. In that lawsuit Adobe claimed Macromedia had infringed on one of its patents that allows for multiple groups of information to be displayed on a single computer screen.
Adobe said it owns the patent awarded in 1996 for “tabbed palette” technology, which enables computer users to customize how the functions in a product are organized on the workspace, similar to stacks of information on a desk.
“Adobe will not be the research and development department for its competitors,” Adobe President Bruce Chizen said at the time of the initial lawsuit. “Our patent and other aspects of our user interface are key to the user experience and functionality of our products; they are essential to differentiate our products and brand from others.”
Macromedia responded to the allegations by saying Adobes lawsuit was “without merit.” Macromedia said they believe the Adobe patent was “invalid and unenforceable” and as a result, Macromedia had not violated the patent. “We believe that their patent was invalid because it was attained by not disclosing relevant prior art,” a statement from the company said.
Just over a month later on September 27, 2000, Macromedia countersued Adobe for infringing on several of its patents. Macromedia wanted an order blocking Adobe’s alleged infringement of the three Macromedia patents, and an award of unspecified damages.