Siemens Industry Software Inc. Software Lawsuits. All You Need to Know In One Page.

SIEMENS INDUSTRY SOFTWARE INC. — SOFTWARE LAWSUITS: WAVE 11 (early 2023).

Siemens Industry Software Inc. v. Does 1-268 (4:23-cv-00498), is the subject of a new wave of Siemens Industry Software Inc. software piracy / copyright infringement lawsuits filed in the Southern District of Texas.

I’ve already written all that needs to be known about the Siemens Industry Software Inc. lawsuits (see articles, below), but if you want a quick summary of what happened in the previous “waves” of the Siemens Industry Software Inc. piracy lawsuits, click here.

However, the first question you might have when you receive a subpoena from your Charter Communications ISP is, “how do I file an objection with the court to stop them from revealing my contact information to the Siemens plaintiff attorneys?”  In other words, “how do I file a motion to quash the subpoena I just received?“

This might be the best article you can read on Motions to Quash.  The subject of the article deals with those who download movies via bittorrent, however, the subject covered in this article is VERY RELEVANT to your Siemens Industry Software Inc. software copyright infringement case.

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Here is what you need to know about the Siemens Industry Software Inc. NX lawsuits:

1) The plaintiff attorneys Robert Reinaldo Riddle and Katherine Geldmacher of Reed Smith LLP are still involved in these lawsuits [James Quail is no longer with their law firm, and I have not seen Andrew Bluebond in recent filings].  Each of these attorneys continue to be genuine in their skills and are capable of taking these cases to trial.

2) Siemens Industry Software Inc. is interested in turning those who used their software unlawfully into paying customers.

3) Siemens is not a “copyright troll” looking to extort quick settlements from their lawsuits (although the topic of settlements was considered by Siemens Industry Software Inc. in their last set of lawsuits).  Rather, to settle a Siemens case, be prepared that they will be asking you for ~$30,000 per license.

4) John Doe Defendants in these lawsuits got caught NOT downloading the software (e.g., with bittorrent), but by the unlawful USE of their software.

5) Siemens Industry Software Inc. and their attorneys at Reed Smith LLP are willing to follow the infringement from your own infringement to the company you work for (to see whether they have proper software licenses “seats” for the software products they are using).

6) The most effective representation is through an attorney who — guilty or not — allows you to keep an open line of communication with the plaintiff attorneys.  Remember, they are looking to sell licenses (and in any sales circumstance, prices can be negotiated by your attorney).

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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW (THIS HAS ALREADY BEEN RESEARCHED):

“SIEMENS INDUSTRY SOFTWARE, INC. (“SIEMENS SOFTWARE LAWSUIT”)“

Also read the following few articles I have written on their lawsuits:
Siemens Industry Software Inc. NX-based lawsuits – converting accused engineers into loyal customers, on 1/9/2017.

Software Developers are now tracking piracy through the USE of downloaded software, on 9/9/2016.

Siemens Industry Software Case IS a Bittorrent Case, on 6/20/2017.

What to do about the Siemens Industry Software Inc. v. Does case (TX), on 1/16/2016.

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What happened to their older lawsuits?

In Waves 1-8, Siemens solicited licenses for the various versions of their NX & Solid Edge software (and in the most recent lawsuit, other Siemens Industry Software Inc. software titles were included).  In Wave 1 (and in subsequent waves) they dismissed the lawsuit, and filed individual copyright infringement lawsuits against companies they discovered were using their software without a license.

In Wave 2 (2016), Siemens filed a similar lawsuit, this time against 100 new defendants.  They surprised a number of defendants with settlement numbers of $50,000+ (eventually, we learned that they were settling licenses to their software, and they actually cost that much).  This second wave lawsuit “on the books” looked to be a failure because they missed a FRCP Rule 4(m) deadline to name and serve defendants.  As a result, they dismissed the entire lawsuit, however, I know that they continued after the dismissal to contact accused defendants (or their attorneys) with the intention of having those accused defendants [now dismissed] purchase a license to cover their use of the Siemens Industry Software Inc. NX software.

In Wave 3 – 5 (2017-2018), they repeated what was a successful strategy in the previous lawsuits.  They spent their time looking for individuals who used pirated versions of their software for profit.  In these waves, Siemens Industry Software Inc. considered asking defendants for large settlements, however, to date this has not materialized and they continue to attempt to legitimize their accused defendants to become lifelong customers through the sale of licenses to their software.

In Wave 6-7 (2019), Siemens Industry Software Inc. changed their strategy, attempting to streamline the settlement process.  They still analyzed each defendant to determine whether they were a) running their own engineering business (and billing clients using the pirated software), or whether they were b) employees or independent contractors working on a project where their employer did not properly license them.  They also analyzed whether the engineer was c) what we call a “tinkerer,” although the way Siemens handled this category changed.

In previous lawsuits, those that used the software for “hobby” purposes (e.g., 3D printing, designing private home uses, etc.) were considered “tinkerers.”  Many of these engineers knew how to use the software from work (where they were properly licensed).  Others used the software for training purposes only (for the purpose of one day getting a job where they would need to use that software).  Because their use was formerly considered “non-revenue producing,” Siemens did not require them to obtain a software license.

IN WAVES 6 AND 7, *THIS CHANGED*.  In the most recent set of cases, Siemens Industry Software Inc. still asked defendants to buy software from them to legitimize their use.  It did not necessarily need to be the same $30,000 NX software they used prior to being sued, but lesser versions with fewer features, or altogether other software packages [at a steep discount] were presented as options.

IN WAVE 8 (2020), there were two lawsuits; one had 150 John Doe Defendants, and the other had only 10 John Doe Defendants.  It was never made known whether these 150 John Doe Defendants were from the same pool as the earlier lawsuits were filed, or whether these were from an entirely new pool of accused infringers.  I suspect that the 150 defendants in the (4:20-cv-00798) case were all new defendants, and that 10 defendants in the (4:20-cv-00801) case were old defendants who did not settle the claims against them.

WAVES 9 & 10 (2021-2022) followed the same trends as WAVE 8 (2020). The only difference is that the “tinkerer” category seemed to become relevant again. This does not mean that they did not ask defendants to purchase a piece of Siemens software (they did); however, their focus appeared to be on the engineers who were using their software in their own businesses for profit.

NOW WE ARE IN WAVE 11 (2023) *NEW INFORMATION* Siemens has sued 268 “John Doe” defendants in the Texas federal court (Case No. 4:23-cv-00498), and my best guess is that the John Doe Defendants will be spread across the US. They appear to be continuing their strategy of suing engineers for the unlawful use of their software, but their list of software titles has expanded.

I am writing this article with updates as of March, 2023. The docket, however, does not look like it will have any activity until their initial pretrial conference which won’t happen for another few months. Thus, you as the accused defendant may not learn that you are part of this lawsuit until later in the summer, 2023 and onward.

This is what the initial pretrial conference should look like:

As I learn more, I will update this article.

As always, here is how an attorney should be handling a Siemens Industry Software Inc. software lawsuit, and how we at the Cashman Law Firm, PLLC would handle your Siemens Industry Software Inc. case.

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