Grabince Stone, a Baton Rouge stone and cabinetry business, is facing a lawsuit from a global software company over allegations of software piracy.
Delaware-based Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence, a provider of computer-aided design and manufacturing technology, filed the complaint in Baton Rouge federal court on Jan. 24. The corporation alleges that Grabince committed “willful and blatant acts of copyright infringement” by unlawfully copying and using unlicensed copies of its Alphacam software.
Alphacam is a computer-aided design and manufacturing software used primarily in the routing and stone-cutting industries to assist with the operation of computer numerical control—or CNC—machinery. Such machinery is used by businesses like Grabince to achieve accurate, complex cuts with a level of precision unachievable by hand.
Hexagon has security systems in place to detect unauthorized copies of its software, and in February 2022, those monitoring tools detected that Grabince was using two illegal copies of Alphacam, according to the complaint.
The lawsuit claims that Grabince and two of its agents or employees—Edward Sutherland and one individual not named in the complaint—copied and accessed two unlicensed copies of Alphacam without paying for the necessary licenses. The value of the two unlicensed copies is $233,090.
Hexagon contends that Grabince knowingly violated copyright laws and the terms of its end-user license agreement, a contract that software users must agree to before installation. Hexagon says it notified Grabince of the infringement and demanded that it end its unlawful use of Alphacam to no avail.
Hexagon is seeking injunctive relief prohibiting Grabince from using the unlicensed software as well as monetary damages. If the court rules in favor of Hexagon, Grabince could be on the line for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Representatives for Grabince had not responded to requests for comment before this morning’s publication deadline.
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