HONG KONG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Xmind has filed an infringement lawsuit against Edraw Software and its parent company, Wondershare Technology, in the District Court for the Central District of California. Xmind mind mapping software, first released in 2007, works on multiple operating systems and has the highest user rating in both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Xmind alleges that Edraw and Wondershare willfully infringed the trademark of Xmind and engaged in false advertising and unlawful, unfair, and fraudulent business practices.
“Xmind’s pioneering products have attracted not just a renowned and loyal customer base, but, unfortunately, also copycats seeking to profit from the fruits of their hard work,” said Hui Shen, a top IP attorney from the international law firm Dorsey & Whitney representing Xmind. “Edraw/Wondershare are among these copycats who have blatantly copied the revolutionary XMIND products, roadmap and trademark rights.”
Xmind was founded in 2007 by four college friends sharing strong interests in mind mapping solutions, which, at the time, was a brand-new software idea. With their own money, the founders started to develop mind mapping software that can be used to organize large amounts of information, combining spatial organization, dynamic hierarchical structuring and node folding like no other then-existing software.
Since 2007, Xmind has been the owner of the XMIND trademark with mind mapping and related software. Since sales of XMIND software began, wholesale sales of such software have amounted to many millions of dollars. In addition, as noted, software marketed under the XMIND trademark has received favorable media and industry attention for providing mind mapping solutions.
“Innovation is the very heart of Xmind. The company’s mission is to improve the state of mind mapping software for the welfare of everyone. We maintain an open mindset for potential technical cooperation and have partners around the world, however, we will not allow others to reap the benefits of our hard work and innovation unfairly and fraudulently,” said Stephen Zhu, Senior Vice President of Xmind.
The suit claims that similarities between the products of Xmind and Edraw/Wondershare were intentional, in that Edraw/Wondershare deliberately intended to copy Xmind’s products and their design – therefore taking advantage of Xmind’s goodwill in the industry. The filing also alleges that Edraw/Wondershare include numerous false statements on their website and in promotional materials, including Edraw’s website comparing Xmind with its own software.
“Unfair competition practices, including online search scams, not only cause irreparable damage to innovative companies like Xmind, but also mislead and hurt U.S. customers,” said Shen.
The co-defendant Wondershare is a publicly-listed company in China and the parent company of Edraw, also located in China. Wondershare owns other apps sold in the U.S., including Filmora and UniConverter.
Xmind Ltd. is a company registered in Hong Kong that released its first revolutionary mind mapping software in 2007. Xmind software is currently available on all platforms, including Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS/iPadOS, Android, and Web.
