Autodesk has filed a lawsuit against Google, accusing Google of infringing its "Flow" trademark by using the name to promote competing AI software used in the production of movies, TV series and video games. In the indictment filed in the U.S. federal court in San Francisco on Friday, Autodesk said that it has been using "Flow" for visual effects, production management and other related products since September 2022. Google launched Flow software for the same type of customers in May 2025, a move that surprised Autodesk.
Autodesk said that Google had assured it that it would not commercialize Flow, but that month it applied for trademark registration of the name in the South Pacific island country of Tonga, and Tonga's trademark applications are usually not disclosed to the public.
The indictment shows that Google used its application in Tonga to try to apply for similar trademark protection for Flow in the United States and to promote the Flow software at industry events such as the Sundance Film Festival.
The indictment alleges: "Google falsely promised that it would always use its own brand name combined with Flow in order to buy time to seize Autodesk's market share. Although the Autodesk Flow series of products has been successful, Google, which is much larger, is likely to suppress Autodesk's Flow products and Flow trademarks."
San Francisco-based Autodesk had a market value of about $51 billion on Friday, while Mountain View, Calif.-based Google parent Alphabet Inc. had a market value of about $3.9 trillion.
Google did not comment on Monday.
Autodesk is demanding unspecified compensation and punitive damages from Google for causing consumer confusion and so-called irreparable harm.
Autodesk said in a statement: "We remain committed to protecting our innovations and maintaining fair competition in the global market."
Last month, Autodesk announced that it would lay off about 1,000 people, accounting for 7% of its total employees, to shift funds to its cloud platform and artificial intelligence business.
