Crestron® Threatens Legal Action over Extron® GlobalViewer® Enterprise Software Introduction

July 18, 2008

Source: Extron

Extron's president has posted a public response to Crestron's letter:

Recently I received a letter from Phillip Kirkpatrick, Corporate Intellectual Property Counsel for Crestron® Electronics, requesting a response to Crestron's allegations that the Extron GlobalViewer® Enterprise – "GVE" – software, introduced at InfoComm 2008, copies their RoomView® software products. I believe that the legal opinions expressed in Crestron's letter are based on a lack of understanding of the Extron GVE software. Therefore, in my response, I also include AMX® and you, our customers in order to educate everyone on the differences between our products.

This is my response to Crestron's letter, which is reprinted in its entirety below.

To: Crestron, AMX and Extron Customers,

We are flattered that Crestron has expressed such an immediate interest in the Extron GlobalViewer Enterprise – "GVE" – software. However, for the record, GVE is not a copy of Crestron RoomView Software any more than it is a copy of AMX MeetingManager® Software. We highly respect the role of both of your companies as suppliers of control systems and control software. We have supported both companies' products over the years and we continue to support your products today. We accept that Crestron and AMX have both chosen to limit support of Extron products by removing Extron drivers from their development tools. Nevertheless, we believe our role, as it has always been, is to be the A/V industry's "interfacing" company. That is why we designed Extron GlobalViewer Enterprise with an open architecture and the ability to communicate with third party control systems.

Both the Crestron and AMX programs have similarities to Extron GVE software. However, I can assure you that Extron GVE is, in fact, quite different. Namely because it is a "configured" product, GlobalViewer Enterprise is simpler to install than Crestron's RoomView. And, unlike the products from Crestron and AMX, which do not support cross-platform communication, our GVE is designed to legally communicate with any third-party room, including Crestron and AMX rooms. We do not try to force our customers to buy additional software. Also, it is my understanding that software licenses from both Crestron and AMX limit the number of rooms that can be managed unless additional fees are paid. Our approach is quite different: we allow an unlimited number of rooms to be managed for one low price.

In any event, Extron has apparently missed the mark in providing a clear explanation of our product in its introduction of GVE at InfoComm. Therefore, I take this opportunity to publically educate Crestron, AMX and, more importantly, our customers on the facts.

You can read Extron's full response to Crestron, as well as the Crestron letter by clicking here

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