Eternix Ltd. v. CivilGEO, Inc.
3:23-cv-00633
W.D. Wis.Apr 23, 2025Background
- Plaintiff Eternix Ltd. alleges defendant Chris Maeder (founder of CivilGEO, Inc.) copied and incorporated code from Eternix’s Blaze Terra GIS software into CivilGEO’s products without authorization.
- Eternix asserts claims for copyright infringement, trade secret misappropriation (under federal and state law), breach of contract, and unjust enrichment.
- Maeder obtained trial versions of Blaze Terra under evaluation-only terms, forwarded them to an Indian development company, and launched competing products containing Blaze Terra code.
- Eternix only discovered the alleged copying in 2022 through a tip from a former CivilGEO employee; Maeder denies any wrongdoing and argues Eternix should have discovered the alleged misuse earlier.
- CivilGEO declared bankruptcy during proceedings, automatically staying the case against it; summary judgment motions were resolved only as to Maeder.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Statute of limitations on copyright/trade secrets claims | Discovered misuse in 2022; claims based on recent conduct are timely. | Eternix should have discovered misuse earlier through reasonable diligence. | Genuine fact disputes; not resolved on summary judgment; claims within 3 years are timely. |
| Ownership and registration of copyright | Eternix owns Blaze Terra copyright; not required to register as a foreign work. | No substantive opposition. | Eternix owns the copyright, suit not barred by lack of registration. |
| Unauthorized copying of software | CivilGEO/ Maeder copied constituent original elements of Blaze Terra code into their products. | Disputes copying but offers no substantive evidence; claims code was third-party derived. | Undisputed: Maeder copied original elements of Blaze Terra without authorization. |
| Originality of copied code | Blaze Terra code is original and creative; most copied code authored by Eternix. | Some copied code was from third-party/ open source, not original to Eternix. | Copied code includes original authorship by Eternix; some open source use irrelevant to liability. |
| Trade secret protection and specificity | Identifies 28 specific trade secrets in Blaze Terra code with explanatory detail. | Lacks specificity; based on generally known techniques, uses some open source, not all code is secret. | 28 trade secrets sufficiently identified; whether generally known/secret goes to trial. |
| Reasonable efforts to maintain secrecy | Employees and contractors signed confidentiality agreements; license restricted code use. | Lapses in enforcement (e.g., one subcontractor) mean protection was inadequate. | Reasonableness of secrecy measures is a jury question; not resolved on summary judgment. |
| Breach of contract | Maeder agreed to use software for evaluation only, personally liable due to lack of early LLC disclosure. | Never agreed to license terms/ clicked agreement; acted for CM Water Group, not personally. | Disputes about contract formation/ terms remain; not resolved on summary judgment. |
Key Cases Cited
- Feist Publ’ns, Inc. v. Rural Tel. Serv. Co., 499 U.S. 340 (copyright infringement elements, originality standard)
- Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242 (standard for summary judgment)
- Petrella v. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc., 572 U.S. 663 (copyright statute of limitations accrues per violation)
- Rockwell Graphic Sys., Inc. v. DEV Indus., Inc., 925 F.2d 174 (reasonable secrecy measures for trade secrets are for jury)
- IDX Sys. Corp. v. Epic Sys. Corp., 285 F.3d 581 (trade secret specificity in software context)
- 3M v. Pribyl, 259 F.3d 587 (combination of publicly known elements can be a trade secret)
- Benjamin Plumbing, Inc. v. Barnes, 162 Wis. 2d 837 (agent’s liability for contract, adequacy of disclosure)