AutoCAD 2011

[#1]

How can I legally remove of the "Produced by Educational..." Plot Stamp on a DWG that was provided as a base for a master plan. The drawing was produced in China. It has a lot of information that would be impossible to redraw from scratch. I have contacted AutoCAD and they have said there is no possible way to have it removed. However, we need to work on the drawing and we have registered AutoCAD 2011 software and fear that all the work we produce will be "tainted" by this plot stamp... rendering our work as illegitimate.

[#2]

That drawing is a product of an educational version of the application. Using any part of it is a violation of your EULA. In short, there is no "legal" way for you to use that drawing or any part of it in commercial work. Send it back where you got it.

[#3]

Sadly that appears to be the only answer.

[#4]

Why "sadly"??

[#5]

If there was a way to remove this, it would allow your external consultant to generate income from a non-comercial AutoCAD license. So the potential for lost sales is the main reason for Autodesk's position on this.

Perhaps Autodesk could consider providing a paid service for cleaning the drawing, but they would probably have to charge the equivalent of 1 AutoCAD license and it would be hard to justify that cost for a single drawing. Plus, the existence of the service would encourage off-shore companies to engage in this behaviour, offloading the cost to unsuspecting customers and sabotaging the legitimate CAD industry.

Given all that, I can understand why Autodesk says that it can't be done.

[#6]

Sadly... becuase we waited a long time for this drawing... as it comes from China.... and the replacement may take another 3 weeks... So Sadly we are forced to dump the project. It is obvious that we have no alternative. I will just consider myself among the growing unemployed...

[#7]

I don't understand what you say... about the external consultant "making money" off the drawing... How do they generate money off a drawing, when others are using it? If there is a way that I can make money off a drawing that I give to my consultants, I would love to know how that can be achieved? Theoretically the original drawing was produced by "someone" in China using Educational Software... He, She, or It, has turned it over to the client for some form of remuneration and the client has passed it along to his consultants, not knowing it's authenticity... For this the consultants, who are third party to the issue... are suck with an unusable entity. Somehow I don't see the punishment fitting the crime. If AutoCAD wants to stop thios type of mis-use... they should charge for educational Software... After all, we pay for all of it anyway. either through higher prices for our subscriptions or taxes going to the educational process.

[#8]

I can volunteer to give you a hand redrawing it, no charge at all. You could divide the work to your convenience, email the part of the drawing you want me to redo, and I'll shoot it right back.

Let me know if you want some help.

Mauricio

[#9]

I just meant that the person who created the drawing was probably paid for their work.

[#10]

Thanks for the offer... but theoretically I would be infecting your EULA... if I passed it along... Rather than take any chances... I will have to return the drawing to the client and request that they clean it... or replace it with a legal document... It will delay the project for the month of June and a part of July... I will just get in a bit more golf than I had hoped.