Adobe sued for trademark infringement over 'Foundry' AI tool

By Blake Brittain

March 12 (Reuters) - British visual-effects software company The Foundry Visionmongers has sued Adobe ADBE.O in California federal court, arguing Adobe's Firefly Foundry suite of generative artificial intelligence tools violates its trademark rights in the "Foundry" name.

Foundry, owned by tech company Roper Technologies ROP.O, said in the complaint filed Wednesday that Adobe's AI-based content creation software will create consumer confusion with its similar products.

Spokespeople for the companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit on Thursday. The case is the latest in a raft of trademark lawsuits tied to artificial intelligence company names or products amid the current AI industry boom.

Foundry, founded in 1996, said that its software has been used in the making of every film that has won an Academy Award for visual effects since 2007. Its lawsuit said that its content-creation software, like Adobe's, has AI capabilities.

Adobe announced its Firefly Foundry software last year, which uses AI to generate text, video, images and other content. The lawsuit said Adobe was likely to cause confusion by using the "Foundry" name to sell similar software to similar markets.

Foundry requested a court order blocking Adobe from using the "Foundry" name and an unspecified amount of monetary damages.

The case is The Foundry Visionmongers Ltd v. Adobe Inc, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, No. 5:26-cv-02121.

For Foundry: Mark Comtois, Nicole McLaughlin and Jennifer Lantz of Duane Morris

For Adobe: attorney information not yet available