Moldflow Corp. has sued arch rival C-Mold, in a battle that pits two suppliers of computer-aided-engineering software that simulates how a mold will fill with plastic.
Moldflow sued C-Mold and Leonid Antanovskii, a software developer who left Moldflow to work at C-Mold last year. Moldflow of Lexington, Mass., charges that Antanovskii misrepresented his intentions when he left Moldflow, and took trade secrets to C-Mold of Ithaca, N.Y.
C-Mold denies the charges.
According to Moldflow, Antanovskii played a key role in developing Moldflow's MF/Flow3D software, which simulates how plastic will flow into a mold for thick-wall parts. Antanovskii worked at Moldflow from 1996 to mid-1998, according to Marc Dulude, Moldflow's president and chief executive officer.
Moldflow sued C-Mold and Antanovskii Feb. 18 in U.S. District Court in Syracuse, N.Y. Dulude said a judge granted Moldflow a preliminary injunction during a hearing Feb. 22. The injunction bars C-Mold or Antanovskii from using or disclosing Moldflow's proprietary information and trade secrets. Antanovskii is not allowed to work in any capacity in which he will use or divulge the knowledge.
Moldflow introduced MF/FLOW3D in September 1998.
Moldflow issued a news release March 1 announcing the lawsuit. Two days later, C-Mold followed with its own release. C-Mold charges that the Moldflow lawsuit was a response to C-Mold's Feb. 1 announcement that it formed Full 3D Simulation Group to advance its technology. C-Mold said its three-dimensional software development began in the early 1990s, well before the dispute over Antanovskii.
``There is not now, nor has there ever been, a need or desire for C-Mold to access any proprietary information from Moldflow,'' the C-Mold news release said.
C-Mold said it does not believe the lawsuit will substantially delay the Full 3D Simulation Group. More than 100 companies have expressed interest in participating in the group, C-Mold said.
