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Ford & AirPro agree to EULA lawsuit dismissal

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Legal
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Ford and AirPro Diagnostics have agreed to the dismissal of a lawsuit regarding End-User License Agreement (EULA) violations filed by the automaker.

In January, U.S. Eastern District of Michigan Judge George Caram Steeh ruled in favor of Ford in its lawsuit against AirPro regarding breach of contract, copyright infringement, trademark violations, and improperly transferring the OEM’s diagnostic software. However, Ford’s claims of false and misleading designations of origin as well as unfair competition violations under Michigan law remained until a mutual dismissal agreement was reached on Wednesday.

The suit was filed Feb. 27, 2020 in which Ford claimed AirPro violated the terms of an End-User License Agreement (EULA) governing the use of Ford Diagnostic Software leading to a breach of contract and copyright infringement as well as trademark dilution “based on AirPro’s misappropriation of Ford’s marks to promote AirPro’s goods and services,” according to Steeh’s order.

Following the dismissal of the case, Ford and AirPro told Repairer Driven News they couldn’t share details of the agreement but do plan to work together moving forward.

“The matter has been resolved amicably and AirPro has obtained a license agreement from Ford,” Ford said.

AirPro Executive Vice President of Operations Josh McFarlin said, “The team here at AirPro Diagnostics is happy to announce that the matter has been resolved amicably and that we have obtained an enterprise license agreement from Ford for the ongoing use of their diagnostic software products.”

AirPro previously asked for summary judgment in answer to all seven counts of Ford’s complaint.

Steeh granted summary judgment to Ford for liability only on its breach of contract, copyright infringement, trademark dilution, and trademark infringement claims. AirPro’s motion for summary judgment was denied.

In September 2019, AirPro informed Ford it would end its practice of transferring long-term licenses between its scan tools and would instead have its customers directly license the Ford Diagnostic Software, according to Steeh’s December 2022 order. “AirPro did not believe it had been in breach of the EULA, but it adopted its new practice to maintain a good relationship with Ford,” Steeh wrote.

AirPro argued that Ford authorized the transfer of long-term licenses between computers by a licensee by providing directions for doing so on its motorcraftservice.com website.

Ford argued that AirPro differentiates its products from its competitors’ products by describing them as “validated as OEM compliant.”

Monetary damages weren’t developed, according to court documents. The terms of the agreement reached between the parties

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Featured image provided by AirPro

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